LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 25-2
Corps lake · Nashville District · Hermitage · Cook, Seven Points and Long Hunter · Tennessee

J. Percy Priest Lake

The north and east shore out of Hermitage: Cook Day Use Area off Old Hickory Boulevard, Seven Points on Stewarts Ferry Pike and Long Hunter State Park on Hobson Pike, where the main gate closes at 8 PM. The two Corps areas sit at published coordinates; the park is placed from its address.

OLD HICKORY BLVD · STEWARTS FERRY PIKE · HOBSON PIKE Corps areas at Recreation.gov coordinates · broken ring = placed by address · schematic
Schematic map of the Hermitage side of J. Percy Priest Lake: Cook Day Use Area and Seven Points at their Recreation.gov coordinates, Long Hunter State Park placed from its street address with a broken ring, the lake drawn as a schematic sweep
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"The park is open till dark."The gate is not. Long Hunter's main gate opens 5 AM and closes 8 PM; "Entry will not be permitted outside of the operational hours"; exit is unrestricted (Tennessee State Parks reservation site, read 2 Nov 2026).
"Cook is only a day-use area."It has a ramp, and a parking rule. On weekends and holidays in season the ramp lot was "vehicles with boat trailers only"; kayaks and paddleboards may use it (Corps, 7 May 2024). $5.00 per vehicle; no pets.
"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).
The pool, in the Corps' words
"Typical summer elevation of 490 feet" (Corps, 19 May 2016); "winter target elevation of 483 feet" (19 Feb 2025). The drawdown has started on or about 5 Oct; a 2026 revision proposed a start "as late as Nov. 12" (9 Jul 2026), and the decision was unpublished when printed. Live level: Corps record jpht1, Elev-Pool, NGVD29; no active USGS series was found.
Long Hunter, autumn 2026. Boat house and fishing pier closed "until further notice"; only certified heat-treated firewood; office 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed noon to 1 (reservation-site alerts, 2 Nov 2026). The park's own page would not load: acreage, ramp count and any swimming rule at the ramps are status pending.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
J. PERCY PRIEST LAKE · HERMITAGE Access and limits
Three sites out of Hermitage
SiteFeeThe agency's record, read 2 Nov 2026
Cook Day Use Area$5.00 vehicle12230 Old Hickory Blvd, Hermitage 37076; 615-889-1975. "$5.00 day use fee" per vehicle; no pets. Ramp lot trailers-only on weekends and holidays in season (Corps 2024 plan). Recreation.gov shows a reservable day-use listing; what it covers is not stated.
Seven Points$5 guest vehicle1810 Stewarts Ferry Pike, Hermitage 37076; (615) 889-5198. "A boat ramp and swimming beach are provided"; campground, 59 sites (Corps, 2023), from $36 a night; "$5 fee per vehicle" for guests of campers. 14-day limit in any 30 days, all Corps campgrounds combined.
Long Hunter State ParkNot published2910 Hobson Pike, Hermitage 37076; 615-885-2422. Gate 5 AM to 8 PM; boat ramp users may launch if they arrive before 8 PM; exit unrestricted. Boat house and pier closed. No coordinate published — placed by address.
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). "Reservoir full pool elevation is the boundary between reservoir and tributary streams or rivers for harvest restrictions." 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, 10-day $30, 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, 3737 Bell Road, Nashville 37214, (615) 889-1975 · Long Hunter 615-885-2422 · 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, 7 May 2024, 5 May 2023 and 9 Jul 2026; Recreation.gov gateway 387 and facility records 232556 and 232702. Tennessee State Parks reservation site, Long Hunter (read 2 Nov 2026). TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Fishing Guide on eRegulations: Region 2, statewide limits, 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