LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 06-5
Corps lake · Monticello west · KY 92 and KY 90 west · Beaver and Otter creeks · Wayne County

Lake Cumberland

Thirteen creek-arm launches on two spokes out of Monticello, twelve of them no-fee and seven of them unpaved or pool-dependent on their KDFWR record. Beaver Creek Resort is the only fee ramp and the only marina. Kayak country — at summer pool.

MONTICELLO WEST · KY 92 AND KY 90 · BEAVER AND OTTER CREEKS Launches at KDFWR coordinates · shoreline and roads schematic
US 27 · Somerset–BurnsideKY 80 west · Somerset–NancyKY 196 · Nancy–JabezKY 76US 127 · Jamestown–dam–AlbanyKY 90 · Albany–MonticelloKY 92 west of MonticelloKY 90 east · KY 1275KY 235 / KY 761 · Nancy peninsulaKY 619KY 92 SE of JamestownDam / tailraceWolf Creek DamBoat rampRamsey PointNo feeBoat rampHarmon CreekNo feeMarinaBeaver Creek ResortRamp + marina · feeBoat rampShelton BranchNo fee · unpavedBoat rampBeaver Creek ChurchNo fee · unpavedBoat rampStringer-RankinNo feeBoat rampPhippsNo feeBoat rampTwyford PointNo fee · unpavedBoat rampSawmillNo fee · upper BeaverBoat rampOld SawmillNo fee · unpavedBoat rampCarter PointNo fee · 4WD at low waterBoat rampFire TrailUnpaved · high waterBoat rampZulaNo fee · unpavedN02 miSchematic · launches at KDFWR coordinates · hollow discs are other corridors
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"Just read the USGS gauge."There isn't one. USGS 03413500 served "0 data types" on 10 Sep 2026. Live pool, releases and generation are on the Nashville District Water Management site. A link, never a level.
"Winter pool is 673."700. 673 ft is the minimum power pool, the project floor. Corps: the lake fills "from elevation 700 to 723 feet by mid-May". Flood pool 723–760. Record 751.69 ft, May 1984.
"It's 65,000 acres."50,250 at summer pool (el. 723) — Corps engineering page and KDFWR's 2026 forecast. KDFWR's database says 47,688; the Corps division page 65,530. We print 50,250 and note the rest.
What the pool does on this road
KDFWR's notes, verbatim: Fire Trail on Otter Creek "accessible during high water"; Carter Point at Bunkum "4 WD during low water." Six ramps are unpaved — Twyford Point, Shelton Branch, Beaver Creek Church, Old Sawmill, Fire Trail and Zula — and every one sits up a creek arm. On a 23-foot drawdown the arms go high before the main lake shows anything: reasoning from the shape of a river reservoir, not a Corps figure, and why every launch here is a summer-pool launch until you have looked at it. The dependable ones are Beaver Creek Resort (fee, multi-lane, dock, marina) and the paved ramps on KY 789, Harmon Creek and Ramsey Point.
The whole shoreline is Lake Cumberland WMA — 38,788 acres of Corps land overlaid by KDFWR and hunted in fall (rabbit and quail 1 Nov–31 Dec, grouse 1 Oct–31 Dec). A fall bank angler at any undeveloped ramp is standing in it. Corps shoreline rules: status pending (no order was readable). Below the dam is a different water: trout rules, its own card.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
LAKE CUMBERLAND · MONTICELLO WEST Access and limits
Thirteen launches on two spokes
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
Beaver Creek ResortYesKY 92 W, "follow signs". Any trailerable, multi-lane, 51+ parking, dock, restrooms, marina 24h, cleaning station.
Stringer-RankinNoKY 92 W to Parnell, Bethel Church Road. Light boats, paved, no dock.
Twyford PointNoKY 92 W, Frisby Road. Light boats, unpaved, no dock.
Harmon CreekNoKY 92 W, KY 789, Attrahunt Road, Boat Dock Road. Light boats, paved, no dock.
Ramsey PointNoKY 92 W, KY 789, Ramsey Point Road. Light boats, paved, paved parking, no dock.
Sawmill · upper BeaverNoKY 90 W, Lynch Ford Road. Light boats, paved, no dock.
PhippsNoKY 90 W, KY 1546, Bell Phipps Rd, Jr. Phipps Rd. Light boats, paved, no dock.
Shelton BranchNoKY 1546, G. Garner Rd, Beaver Creek Church Rd (KY 1458). Light boats, unpaved.
Beaver Creek ChurchNoKY 1546, Beaver Creek Church Road. Light boats, unpaved.
Old SawmillNoKY 1546, Old Sawmill Road. Light boats, unpaved.
Carter Point · BunkumNoKY 90 W, KY 1009 N. Light boats, paved, dock. "4 WD during low water."
Fire Trail · Otter CreekNoOld Hwy 90 loop, KY 834 N (1 mi), Fire Trail Road. Unpaved. "Accessible during high water."
Zula · Otter CreekNoKY 90 W to the old Hwy 90 bridge over Otter Creek. Light boats, unpaved.
Limits — four of them differ from statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Striped bass22 in minimum2
Walleye14 in minimum (statewide)6 (statewide)
Smallmouth bass18 in minimumstatewide
Largemouth bass15 in minimumstatewide
Crappie, black and white10 in minimumstatewide
Everything else is statewide — spotted bass, white bass, catfish, sunfish, black bass and crappie creels. Lake sturgeon: "Protected Species: must be immediately released." Marina: Beaver Creek Resort. Camping: no Corps or state campground on this spoke on any record read; Fall Creek (Monticello east card) is the nearest Corps campground. Fish attractors: KDFWR publishes a GPX and a map; no count is stated.
Live pool: USACE Nashville District Water Management, lrn-wc.usace.army.mil (no USGS series) · Corps Resource Manager, Somerset, (606) 679-6337.
Sources: USACE Nashville District Wolf Creek Dam and Lake Cumberland pages and Public Affairs releases via DVIDS (verbatim elevations and dates); Recreation.gov campground listings; KDFWR waterbody records 98 and 186, the 62 access-site records, 2026 Fishing Forecast and WMA record; USGS 03413500.
Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/lake-cumberland/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the pool actually moves. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=lake-cumberland