LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 08-2
TVA lake · Fair Dealing corridor · US 68 north of Aurora · Marshall County

Kentucky Lake

The west-shore resort strip between the Big Bear and Jonathan Creek embayments, every launch reached "KY 408 E of Benton" then a side road off US 68. Nine launches: Moor's, Big Bear and Barge Island free; six resort ramps with a fee, one of them guests-only.

FAIR DEALING · US 68 NORTH OF AURORA Launches at KDFWR coordinates · schematic
US 641 · Benton–GilbertsvilleKY 408 / US 68 · Benton–AuroraKY 58 / KY 962 / KY 963KY 1484 / Reed RoadMarinaMoor's ResortNo-fee ramp · marinaCampsiteBarge Island PUANo fee · campingMarinaBee Spring LodgeFee · marinaBoat rampBig Bear PUANo fee · multi-laneMarinaKing Creek ResortFee · marinaMarinaSouthern Comfort ResortFee · marinaMarinaShawnee Bay ResortGuests onlyMarinaHickory HillFee · marinaMarinaCozy CoveFee · marinaN02 miSchematic · launches at KDFWR coordinates · hollow discs are other corridors · a dot with a leader is the published position
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"Just read the USGS gauge."There isn't one. USGS 03609000 served "0 data types" on 10 Sep 2026. The pool is TVA's: its lake-levels page, or NWS gauge KYDK2. A link, never a level.
"Winter pool is way down."Five feet. TVA: "typical summer target level is 359 feet"; "minimum winter elevation of 354 feet". No fill or drawdown date on any readable page; no KDFWR launch on this lake carries a winter-pool warning.
"A Kentucky licence covers the lake."North of the US 68 / KY 80 bridge, yes. South of it to the US 79 bridge a Kentucky licence covers a boat angler under Kentucky rules; a bank angler follows the state they stand in; Blood River is Kentucky-only. Not Lake Barkley.
What the pool does on this road
All nine launches are paved and none carries a KDFWR pool note, so the five-foot swing between 359 and 354 is a courtesy-dock question here, not a can-you-launch question. Six of the nine are single-lane resort ramps, four of them seasonal with limited hours on their KDFWR record. Moor's and Big Bear — multi-lane, 51+ paved parking, no fee — are the two launches here that do not depend on a resort being open. That is the record; the reasoning is that a fall trip starts at one of those two.
Nothing on this road is Forest Service or state park — it is TVA public-use areas (Big Bear, Barge Island) and private resorts. Shawnee Bay: "is not a Public Launch. Only guests of the resort are allowed to launch boats." Reed Road is measured from Fair Dealing, the US 68 crossroads. All of this corridor is north of the US 68 / KY 80 bridge — Kentucky rules, Kentucky licence, no exceptions.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
KENTUCKY LAKE · FAIR DEALING Access and limits
Nine launches, north to south along the shore
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
Moor's ResortNoKY 963. Any trailerable, multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, restrooms year-round, marina year-round, lodging, retail. No camping.
Barge Island PUANoKY 962 to the end, at Birmingham Point. Any trailerable, multi-lane, 26–50 parking, dock, seasonal restrooms and camping, retail.
Bee Spring LodgeYesKY 962. Any trailerable, single lane, dock, seasonal restrooms and marina, lodging, retail. Year-round.
Big Bear PUANoKY 58 to the end. Any trailerable, multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, restrooms year-round, retail limited hours.
King Creek ResortYesKY 58, King Creek Road. Light boats, single lane, dock, camping year-round, seasonal marina, lodging. Ramp seasonal, limited hours.
Southern Comfort ResortYesKY 962. Light boats, single lane, dock, seasonal restrooms and marina, lodging, retail. Seasonal.
Shawnee Bay ResortYesKY 1484, Shawnee Bay Road. Guests only. Light boats, single lane, dock, seasonal restrooms and marina.
Hickory HillYesReed Road, 2 miles from Fair Dealing. Light boats, single lane, dock, seasonal camping and marina, lodging. Ramp seasonal, limited hours.
Cozy CoveYesReed Road, 2 miles from Fair Dealing. Light boats, single lane, dock, seasonal camping and marina, retail. Seasonal.
Limits — four of them differ from statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Largemouth bass15 in minimumstatewide
Smallmouth bass15 in minimumstatewide
Crappie, black and white10 in minimum20 combined
Sauger14 in minimum6
Everything else is statewide — redear, striped bass and hybrid, white bass, catfish, sunfish, black bass creel. Camping on this road: Barge Island (seasonal), King Creek (year-round), Hickory Hill and Cozy Cove (seasonal) — all per KDFWR; rates and seasons are the resorts' and not printed. Marinas: seven on this road; hours, slips and fuel are status pending. Fish attractors: KDFWR publishes a GPX and a map; no count is stated.
Live pool: tva.com/environment/lake-levels/kentucky · NWS gauge KYDK2 · no USGS series · KDFWR Western Fisheries District via the waterbody record, wid=64.
Sources: TVA Kentucky dam page and Kentucky Reservoir Land Management Plan (verbatim elevations, dates and statistics); KDFWR waterbody records 64 and 320, the 43 access-site records, 2026 Fishing Forecast, WMA record and reciprocal-agreements page; USFS Land Between the Lakes boating, rules and camping pages; USGS 03609000.
Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/kentucky-lake/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the pool, the ramps or the rules actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=kentucky-lake