LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 09-5
Corps lake · US 68 / KY 80 corridor · Cadiz, the Little River arm, Canton, KY 164 to Linton · Trigg County

Lake Barkley

The highway from I-24 exit 65 and the one road that crosses the lake. Eight launches: the state resort park, three on the Little River arm, one at each end of the Canton bridge — the Forest Service ramp on the west bank, the Corps ramp on the east — and KY 164 south to Donaldson Creek and Linton. Seven of the eight are free.

US 68 / KY 80 · CADIZ TO LINTON Launches at KDFWR coordinates · schematic
KY 453 · The TraceKY 274 · east shoreUS 68 / KY 80 · Cadiz–Golden PondKY 164 · Canton–LintonKY 139 · Cadiz southBoat rampMeschan BridgeNo fee · KY 274MarinaBoat HavenFee · marinaBoat rampLittle River RampNo fee · Peal Chapel RoadMarinaLake Barkley State ParkNo-fee ramp · marina · state parkCampsiteDevil's Elbow – LBLNo fee · multi-lane · LBLBoat rampDevil's Elbow CorpsNo fee · Corps · KY 164Boat rampDonaldson Creek – Calhoun HillNo fee · KY 164Boat rampLintonNo fee · Corps day useN02 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
The two multi-lane launches on this road are the ones to trailer to: Lake Barkley State Park (51+ paved spaces, dock, cleaning station, accessible pier) and Devil's Elbow – LBL (multi-lane, dock, accessible pier, unpaved parking). Little River Ramp is the shallow one — no dock, "follow to end", light boats — at the head of the Little River arm. A river arm loses water from its head first: reasoning, not a survey.
Lake Barkley State Resort Park is half open. Commonwealth release, 16 Dec 2024: "$17 million in renovations"; main lodge and pool closed from 2 Sep 2025; "Lodging is currently available in the Little River Lodge and cottages." No reopening date on any page read — status pending. Cadiz Recreation Area (Corps, Jefferson Street off KY 139) has a ramp on the Little River but no KDFWR record. Linton shelter "is for day-use only between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m."
LIMESTONE DRIFT
LAKE BARKLEY · US 68 / KY 80 Access and limits
Eight launches, Cadiz to Linton
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
Meschan BridgeNoUS 68/80 W of Cadiz; right on KY 274 just past bridge. Light boats, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, dock, seasonal restrooms, camping and picnic, lodging. Year-round.
Boat HavenYesUS 68/80; right on KY 274; follow signs. Light boats, paved single lane, dock, seasonal restrooms, camping and marina, lodging. Year-round. Private.
Little River RampNoUS 68/80; right on KY 274; left on Peal Chapel Road; follow to end. Light boats, paved single lane, no dock, no facilities. Year-round.
Lake Barkley State ParkNoUS 68/80 W of Cadiz to park entrance. Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, restrooms, camping and picnic year-round, marina, cleaning station, accessible pier.
Devil's Elbow – LBLNoFirst road left after the H. R. Lawrence Memorial bridge. Light boats, paved multi-lane, unpaved parking, dock, restrooms, camping and picnic year-round, accessible pier. Forest Service; free.
Devil's Elbow CorpsNoUS 68/80; left on KY 164. Light boats, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, dock, no restrooms, seasonal camping, picnic year-round, retail. Year-round.
Donaldson Creek – Calhoun HillNoKY 164 to Ross School Road. Light boats, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, dock, no facilities. Year-round.
LintonNoKY 139 S of Cadiz; right on KY 164. Light boats, paved single lane, 26–50 parking, dock, seasonal restrooms and picnic, retail. Corps day-use area with a swim beach. Year-round.
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: Lake Barkley SRP (79 sites, through 31 Oct 2026), Devil's Elbow – LBL (year-round; Forest Service permit rules), Devil's Elbow Corps (seasonal), Meschan Bridge and Boat Haven (seasonal, KDFWR). Lake Barkley WMA — 907 acres, "primarily of islands"; Duck Island refuge closed 15 Oct–15 Mar, North Island 1 Nov–15 Feb; KDFWR's GPS point for it is the Linton ramp. 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 · Lake Barkley SRP (270) 924-1131 · Lake Barkley WMA (KDFWR) (270) 753-6913.
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