LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Access & Rules · No. 16-2
Lake · US 27 north of Lancaster · three fee ramps, all with courtesy docks · Garrard County

Herrington Lake

The Garrard shore, reached from Lancaster: Camp Kennedy, Herrington Marina and Bryants Camp — the only three ramps on the lake with courtesy docks, and the only two that list year-round camping.

US 27 · LANCASTER · KY 152 · KY 1355 · KY 3373 Ramps at KDFWR coordinates · shoreline and roads not drawn
Boat rampCamp Kennedymulti-lane · dockBoat rampHerrington Marinasingle lane · dockBoat rampBryants Campmulti-lane · dockN02 miRamps at KDFWR coordinates · hollow discs are other corridors · shoreline and roads not drawn
Three things to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources say
"Check the pool."No pool is published. Kentucky Utilities owns the lake; no summer pool, winter pool or drawdown date appears on any page we read — status pending. Read USGS 03286000, parameter 62614.
"Find the public ramp."KDFWR lists none. All ten access sites are fee ramps, and KDFWR lists no free ramp, carry-down or bank site on the lake. No fee amount is published.
"What are the lake rules?"Statewide. KDFWR lists no size or creel rule for this lake; 301 KAR 1:201 names Herrington only for the two-mile tailwater below the dam.
What this road actually gets you
Three side roads off US 27, each with a mileage in KDFWR’s string: Bryants Camp at 5.7 miles (Paper Mill Road, then Fork Church Road), Herrington Marina at 8.3 miles (KY 1355, Fisher Ford Road, Sharp Road, by the mouth of McKecknie Creek) and Camp Kennedy at 10.3 miles (KY 152 for 4.1). Camp Kennedy is filed here because KDFWR routes it from US 27.

Algal blooms: 2025 is history, not status

Kentucky confirmed a harmful algal bloom on 19 Jun 2025 at Paradise Camp and near Tanyard Branch (Redgate) and lifted the advisory on 3 Jul 2025. That is history. Today’s advisories: watermaps.ky.gov/HABs. Fish-consumption advisories: status pending — the Department for Public Health; we quote none. Kentucky Utilities owns the lake and shoreline; its dock and shoreline rules are status pending.

LIMESTONE DRIFT
HERRINGTON LAKE · US 27 Access and limits
The three sites on this road, in KDFWR’s words
SiteCountyKDFWR record, in the agency's words · every ramp year-round, 24 h
Camp Kennedy
asid 200		Garrard“US 27 N of Lancaster (10.3 miles); left on KY 152 (4.1 miles)”. Any trailerable boat, paved, multiple lanes, fee, unpaved parking ≤25, courtesy dock. Restrooms, camping and marina year-round 24 h; retail year-round, limited hours. Lodging and accessible facilities unknown.
Herrington Marina
asid 198		Garrard“US 27 N of Lancaster (8.3 miles); left on KY 1355; right on Fisher Ford Road; right on Sharp Road; located by mouth of McKecknie Creek”. Any trailerable boat, paved, single lane, fee, paved parking 26–50, courtesy dock. Restrooms and cleaning station year-round 24 h; marina and retail year-round, limited hours. Lodging and accessible facilities unknown.
Bryants Camp
asid 196		Garrard“US 27 N of Lancaster (5.7 miles); left on Paper Mill Road; right on Fork Church Road (KY 3373)”. Any trailerable boat, paved, multiple lanes, fee, paved parking ≤25, courtesy dock. Restrooms and camping year-round 24 h; retail year-round, limited hours. Marina, lodging, cleaning station unknown.
Limits — statewide; KDFWR lists no special rule here
SpeciesSizeDaily limit
Black bass12 in minimum (largemouth, smallmouth)6
White bass, hybrid striped bassno more than 5 a day (10 in possession) may be 15 in or longer15, singly or combined
Crappieno size limit20
Catfishno size limit; trophy-catfish clause — read itunlimited
301 KAR 1:201 §2(1), re-read 5 Oct 2026. KDFWR’s record adds only “Statewide Regulations Apply” (hybrid striped bass, white bass). Tailwater (wid=135, its own water): artificial bait only, §3(23) — KDFWR’s summary says “artificial lures or flies only”. Attractors: none listed. Trout: the lake is on none of KDFWR’s stocking pages we read.
On this corridor. Camp Kennedy and Bryants Camp list year-round camping; Herrington Marina lists the only cleaning station KDFWR lists on the lake. Launch fees: all fee ramps, no amount published; marina and retail hours are the businesses’ own — ask before you drive.
Live level: USGS 03286000, Herrington Lake near Burgin — the only parameter it offers is 62614 (lake elevation, NGVD29); USGS’s legacy page says the site “will be decommissioned in late 2026”; check the newer monitoring-location page. No summer or winter pool is published: status pending. Inflow: USGS 03285000, Dix River near Danville — the river above the lake.
Sources: KDFWR waterbody records wid=117 and 135 and access records 196, 198, 200, 59, 60, 435, 436, 437, 439, 440 and 1211, the 2026 Fishing Forecast and the Herrington Lake Bass Assessment 2023; 301 KAR 1:201; LG&E and KU, Herrington Lake Study page and Dix Dam page; USGS 03286000 and 03285000; Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection releases of 19 Jun and 3 Jul 2025.
Conditions change. Verify access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/herrington-lake/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the rules or the access on this lake actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=herrington-lake