LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 09-2
Corps lake · Kuttawa corridor · I-24 exit 40 · US 62 / US 641 · KY 810 · KY 295 · Lyon County

Lake Barkley

The north shore between the dam and Eddyville, every launch reached "US 62/641 W of Eddyville" then a side road: KY 810 to Eureka, Boyd's Landing and Buzzard Rock, the Suwanee turn for Poplar Creek, KY 295 to Kuttawa, KY 93 to Mineral Mound. Seven launches, six of them free, three multi-lane.

KUTTAWA · US 62 / US 641 Launches at KDFWR coordinates · schematic
I-24US 62 / US 641 · over the damKY 810 / KY 1271KY 295 · KuttawaKY 93 · Eddyville southDam / tailraceBarkley DamBoat rampKuttawa / Lyon CountyNo fee · multi-lane · 51+ parkingBoat rampMineral Mound State ParkNo fee · multi-lane · state parkMarinaKuttawa Harbor$5 launch · marinaBoat rampPoplar CreekNo fee · at SuwaneeMarinaBuzzard RockNo-fee ramp · marinaCampsiteEurekaNo fee · Corps campgroundBoat rampBoyd's LandingNo fee · KY 810 to the endN02 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 03438210 served "0 data types" on 10 Sep 2026. The pool is the Corps' (Nashville District water management) and TVA's Barkley page; TVA's lake line is 800-238-2264, code 40. A link, never a level.
"Winter pool is way down."Five feet. Corps Master Plan: 354 ft "from December 1st until April 1st", "increasing to 357 feet AMSL by April 15th, and climbing to 359 feet AMSL by May 1st". KDFWR, not the Corps, says the drawdown starts "around July 5th".
"A Kentucky licence covers the lake."The Kentucky portion only. 301 KAR 3:160 and KDFWR's reciprocal page cover part of Kentucky Lake, Dale Hollow and Big South Fork — not Lake Barkley. Below the state line, a Tennessee licence.
What the pool does on this road
Three multi-lane launches with paved parking — Kuttawa / Lyon County ("0.25 miles south of I-24", 51+ spaces), Kuttawa Harbor and Mineral Mound (51+) — sit on the widest water above the dam. Eureka's ramp is "Year Round - Limited Hours" on its record and its campground runs 28 April to 16 October in 2026. Five feet on water this wide is a courtesy-dock question at the paved ramps — the record says paved; the rest is reasoning.
Kuttawa Harbor's overflow lot is not Kuttawa Harbor's. KDFWR, verbatim: "US Army Corp of Engineers property across street capacity of 100, must have permit for Corp of Engineers". The "$5.00 launch fee" is KDFWR's figure. Old Kuttawa Recreation Area (Corps, KY 295): beach, day-use fees, dawn to dusk — no KDFWR ramp record. Mineral Mound State Park: only the ramp record was readable; park hours and facilities status pending.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
LAKE BARKLEY · KUTTAWA Access and limits
Seven launches, the dam to Eddyville
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
EurekaNoKY 810; right on KY 1271. Any trailerable, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, dock, seasonal restrooms, Corps camping (26 sites). Ramp year-round, limited hours.
Boyd's LandingNoKY 810 "to end of road". Light boats, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, no dock, no restrooms, seasonal picnic. Ramp seasonal.
Buzzard RockNoKY 810; left at the Buzzard Rock sign. Any trailerable, paved single lane, dock, seasonal restrooms, marina year-round, lodging. Year-round.
Poplar CreekNo"at Suwanee, turn left at boat ramp sign". Light boats, paved single lane, dock, no facilities. Year-round.
Kuttawa HarborYesKY 295 to the lake. Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 26–50 parking, dock, seasonal restrooms and marina, accessible pier. "$5.00 launch fee". Year-round.
Kuttawa / Lyon CountyNoKY 295 under I-24; "Ramp is on the left, 0.25 miles south of I-24." Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, seasonal restrooms. Year-round.
Mineral Mound State ParkNoKY 93 S of Eddyville; right at the park ramp sign. Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, seasonal restrooms, lodging. Ramp year-round, limited hours.
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, white bass, catfish, sunfish, black bass creel. Camping on this road: Eureka (Corps, 26 sites, 28 Apr–16 Oct 2026, Recreation.gov 232585); nothing else public. Marinas: Buzzard Rock and Kuttawa Harbor — hours, slips and fuel are not on any primary record and are status pending. Fish attractors: KDFWR publishes a GPX and a map; no count is stated.
Live pool: lrn-wc.usace.army.mil (Corps) · tva.com/environment/lake-levels/barkley · TVA lake line 800-238-2264, code 40 · no USGS series · Corps office, 200 Barkley Dam Overlook, Grand Rivers, (270) 362-4236.
Sources: USACE Nashville District Lake Barkley and Barkley Dam pages and the Lake Barkley Master Plan (October 2017) for elevations, dates and statistics; KDFWR waterbody records 66 and 331, the 39 access-site records, 2026 Fishing Forecast, WMA record and reciprocal-agreements page; 301 KAR 3:160; USFS Land Between the Lakes boating, rules and camping pages; Recreation.gov; USGS 03438210.
Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/lake-barkley/#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=lake-barkley