LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 25-1
Corps lake · Nashville District · Bell Road and Anderson Road · the dam end · Tennessee

J. Percy Priest Lake

The west shore from the dam south: Bell Road crosses the dam past the Corps office, Hamilton Creek Park is Metro Nashville's ramp on the same road, Anderson Road dead-ends in a Corps campground and a day-use ramp, and Smith Springs shuts for winter. "15 minutes from downtown" Nashville, on the Corps' own figure.

BELL ROAD · ANDERSON ROAD · THE DAM Corps areas at Recreation.gov coordinates · broken ring = placed by address · schematic
Schematic map of the dam end of J. Percy Priest Lake: the dam drawn at the Corps water-data record position, Anderson Road Campground and Smith Springs at their Recreation.gov coordinates, Hamilton Creek Park and Anderson Road Day Use placed from their street addresses with a broken ring
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"It sits at summer pool."Not in autumn. Summer elevation 490 ft (Corps, 2016); the drawdown has started on or about 5 Oct toward a 483 ft winter target (Corps, 2025 and 2026). A 2026 revision proposed a start as late as 12 Nov; outcome unpublished when printed.
"Just read the USGS gauge."No active USGS series was found. 03430045 is a location record with no data; 03430100 below the dam ended in 1996. The live level is the Corps water-data record jpht1, series Elev-Pool, feet NGVD29.
"Statewide limits apply."Not for crappie or bass. TWRA's Percy Priest entry sets its own size and creel: table on the back (2026-27 guide, Region 2, 11 Sep 2026).
What the drawdown changes on this road
Smith Springs closed 1 Nov 2024 to 3 Mar 2025 and again 3 Nov 2025 to 2 Mar 2026 (Corps releases); the Corps pointed boaters to Hamilton Creek Park and Four Corners Marina. Expect a closure again and confirm by phone — our reading, not the Corps'. Hamilton Creek's gate runs 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; after hours it lets you out, not in (Metro Parks, 24 Aug 2026). Which ramps lose water at 483: no agency page states it. Status pending.
Near the dam. "Boaters and the public are urged to exercise caution near dam releases and to heed all posted warnings." "High flows and rapid water level changes can be dangerous, particularly near spillways and turbines." (Corps, 19 Feb 2025, when the project was "Generating and spilling at 11,000 cfs"). No restricted-zone distance or siren was published in anything we read — status pending; obey the signs.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
J. PERCY PRIEST LAKE · BELL ROAD Access and limits
Four sites on the dam end — two of them placed by address
SiteFeeThe agency's record, read 2 Nov 2026
Hamilton Creek Park · Metro ParksNot published2901 Bell Road, Nashville 37217; marina office 615-862-8472. "The security gate operates 6 a.m. to 8 p.m." The Corps names it as the nearby ramp when Smith Springs is shut. No coordinate published — placed by address.
Anderson Road Campground$5 guest vehicle4010 Anderson Road, Nashville 37217; 615-361-1980. Campground with a boat ramp, 37 sites (Corps, 2023); nightly rates on Recreation.gov. "$5 fee per vehicle" for guests of campers.
Anderson Road Day Use$5.00 vehicle4060 Anderson Road; 615-361-9805. "There are also restrooms and a boat launch ramp"; "No pets allowed at day use area"; "may be closed on the weekends" (campground page). Placed by address.
Smith SpringsNot published3060 Smith Springs Road, Antioch 37013; 615-889-1975. Day-use area; ramp: status pending (no ramp text on its record). Closed for winter the last two years, early Nov to early Mar.
Limits — TWRA's Percy Priest entry, then statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Black bassLargemouth 15 in; smallmouth 18 in; spotted no length limit5 in combination
Crappie (all species)10 in minimum30 in combination
Striped / hybrid striped bass15 in minimum2 in combination
White bassno length limit15
The rest of the Percy Priest entry: catfish "only one (1) fish over 34 inches in length may be harvested per day"; rock bass 20, redear 20, bluegill and yellow bass no limit. Species not listed: "Statewide regulations apply for any species not mentioned" (Region 2). Below the dam is a different water: "Stones River (confluence with Cumberland River upstream to J. Percy Priest Dam): Regulations for Cheatham Reservoir apply." Licence: Tennessee's. Percy Priest is on neither state's reciprocal list, so a Kentucky licence does not cover it — our reading of both lists. Non-resident 3-day no-trout $20, annual $49 (TWRA fees, 10 Sep 2026).
Live level: water.usace.army.mil, Nashville District, location jpht1 (Elev-Pool, NGVD29) · Corps labels on that record: Top of Flood 504.5, Top of Inactive 480 · Corps office and visitor center, 3737 Bell Road, Nashville 37214, (615) 889-1975 · TWRA Region II 615-781-6622.
Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District: water-data record jpht1; Corps Lakes Gateway project H308370; releases of 19 May 2016, 19 Feb 2025, 21 Apr 2026, 9 Jul 2026, 28 Oct 2024 and 29 Oct 2025; Recreation.gov facility records 232515, 10005977 and 233106. Metro Parks Hamilton Creek Marina page (24 Aug 2026). TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Fishing Guide on eRegulations: Region 2, statewide limits, exceptions, reciprocal agreements, licence fees. USGS NWIS site service.
Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised November 2026.
limestonedrift.com
Water alerts. We email when something on this lake actually changes — a closure, a drawdown decision, a rule. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=j-percy-priest-lake