Corps lake · The Trace, south run · KY 453 from Golden Pond · Forest Service roads 133 to 165 and 347 · Trigg County
Lake Barkley
Enter the Trace at Golden Pond off US 68 / KY 80 and work north on Silver Trail and Mulberry Flat for Honker Bay, Taylor Bay, Crooked Creek and Shaw Branch, or south on Road 165 for Ford Bay. Five launches, all free, all Forest Service.
THE TRACE · SOUTH RUNLaunches at KDFWR coordinates · schematic
Three numbers to get right
What you hear
What 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
Crooked Creek is the launch here that does not ask the question — paved, dock, year-round restrooms, accessible pier. Taylor Bay has a dock and a self-service campground; Honker Bay and Shaw Branch are paved single-lane with no dock; Ford Bay is unpaved, "Not Maintained", no dock.
The Trace crosses US 68 at Golden Pond, and Devil's Elbow is minutes east. The Forest Service boating page names three more Lake Barkley ramps on this half of LBL with no KDFWR record: "Energy Dam-Inland lake next to Barkley Lake and a ramp to Barkley Lake" (courtesy dock; Energy Lake Campground ¼ mile, 270-924-2270), "Neville Bay Camping Area" (backcountry) and "Gatlin Point Campground" (self-service). Coordinates not published — status pending, not mapped. Backcountry rules, the 200-yard road setback and the 21-night limit apply as on the north run.
LIMESTONEDRIFT
LAKE BARKLEY · THE TRACE, SOUTHAccess and limits
Five launches, Honker Bay to Ford Bay
Launch
Fee
KDFWR record, in the agency's words
Honker Bay
No
North on the Trace; right on Road 133 (Silver Trail); right on Road 134; left on Road 135. Light boats, paved single lane, unpaved parking, no dock, no facilities. Year-round.
Taylor Bay – LBL
No
Road 135 (Mulberry Flat Road); right on Road 136. Light boats, paved single lane, dock, restrooms, camping and picnic year-round, accessible restrooms. Self-service campground; fee site, see LBL.
Crooked Creek – LBL
No
Road 134. Light boats, paved single lane, dock, restrooms year-round, accessible pier. No camping.
Shaw Branch
No
Road 134; right on 154. Light boats, paved single lane, no dock, no restrooms, camping and picnic year-round.
Ford Bay
No
South on the Trace; left on Road 165; left on Road 347. "Not Maintained." Light boats, unpaved, no dock, no restrooms, camping and picnic year-round.
Limits — four of them differ from statewide
Species
Size
Daily creel
Largemouth bass
15 in minimum
statewide
Smallmouth bass
15 in minimum
statewide
Crappie, black and white
10 in minimum
20 combined
Sauger
14 in minimum
6
Everything else is statewide — redear, striped bass, white bass, catfish, sunfish, black bass creel. Camping on this road: Taylor Bay (self-service), Shaw Branch and Ford Bay (dispersed — permit rules), Energy Lake (developed, gatehouse), Neville Bay (backcountry), Gatlin Point (self-service) — Forest Service fees change; "fee site, see LBL". No marina, no fuel on this shore. Fish attractors: GPX, no count 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 · Land Between the Lakes 800-525-7077 · LBLInfo@usda.gov.
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.
limestonedrift.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