The site on this road, in KDFWR’s words
| Site | County | KDFWR record, in the agency's words |
|---|
| Barkley Tailwater ramp | Lyon | “US 62/641 W of Eddyville; left at Barkley Dam”. Any light trailerable boat, paved, multiple lanes, no fee, paved parking, 26–50, no courtesy dock. Ramp and shoreline year-round 24 h; restrooms seasonal 24 h; lodging year-round 24 h; retail limited hours; camping Unknown; marina None. KDFWR files this record under waterbody “Lake Barkley”; which side of the dam it launches into is status pending. |
Limits — one figure is local, the rest is statewide
| Species | Size | Daily limit |
|---|
| Sauger, walleye, hybrids | 14 in minimum | 6, singly or in combination |
| Rough fish, by snagging | — | no daily limit here (§5(12)) |
The snagging rule in full (301 KAR 1:410, eff. 7 Nov 2024). Season 1 Feb – 10 May (§5(1)). Prohibited dam to U.S. 62 bridge (§5(6)(c)) and within 200 yards of any dam (§5(6)(g)). Not from a boat or platform (§5(3)(b),(e)); not a sport fish (§5(3)(a)) — the §5(8) and §5(10) exceptions are Tennessee River only. One single or treble hook (§5(4)). No daily limit for rough fish (§5(12)): the surviving eight-fish aggregate is the Tennessee River below Kentucky Lake Dam; KDFWR’s summary still shows the superseded 2019 figure. Every snagged rough fish here must be retained, not released or culled, except invasive carp, shad or herring (§5(16)); stop at a paddlefish or shovelnose sturgeon limit or a trophy catfish (§5(17)). No fishing at the lock-chamber mouth, as signed (301 KAR 1:201 §3(20)). Trotlines, jug lines, set lines barred dam to Highway 62 bridge (§3(9)(b)). Striped, white bass and catfish: statewide, 301 KAR 1:201 §2 — status pending.
On this corridor. A 10,180-foot dam with twelve 55 × 50-foot Tainter gates and four 32,500-kilowatt units. The lock: 758 Barkley Dam Road, Grand Rivers, KY 42045, a single 110 × 800-foot chamber lifting about 57 feet, with roughly 513 recreational lockages and over seven million tons of commodities a year (2013). Visiting hours status pending; a 2026 Nashville District release on a Barkley Lock dewatering could not be read, so any closure is status pending — call the Corps. Nashville District, 21 April 2026: May weekly hydropower requirements drop about 30%, and releases with them. Camping: Canal Campground, 1010 Canal Campground Road, Grand Rivers, is on the lake, not the tailwater; Recreation.gov says it is “closed from March 26, 2027 through May 26, 2027, for road paving.” The rest of this water: one card each for Iuka, Dycusburg, Pinckneyville, Vicksburg, the Barkley Tailwater VPA (bank only) and the ramp at the dam.
No live stage source we can read. No active USGS continuous gauge on the Cumberland between Barkley Dam and the Ohio — 03438220 to 30 Sep 1997, 03438475 at Dycusburg 1988–1999, 03438500 at Smithland to 2014 — and NWS BARK2 returned no data. Nearest active: USGS 03399800, Ohio River at Smithland Dam; as a proxy here, status pending. Corps figure that does hold: a minimum tailwater elevation of 302 feet AMSL is required to facilitate navigation (Master Plan). USACE Lake Barkley, 200 Barkley Dam Overlook, Grand Rivers, KY 42045 · (270) 362-4236