LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 06-1
Corps lake · US 27 corridor · Somerset to Burnside · Pulaski County

Lake Cumberland

The upper, riverine end of the lake. Five launches off US 27 south of Somerset — three of them no-fee — plus Burnside Marina, the Waitsboro Corps campground and the only island park in the state system.

US 27 · SOMERSET TO BURNSIDE 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 JamestownCampsiteWaitsboroCorps campground · feeBoat rampOld Waitsboro CrossingNo feeBoat rampLakeviewNo fee · Corps day-useMarinaBurnside MarinaRamp + marina · feeBoat rampBurnside Island SPNo fee · state parkN02 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
All five launches on this road are paved and none carries a KDFWR high-water note, so this is the corridor least affected by the 23-foot swing between 700 and 723. What the pool does here is upstream of the ramps: KDFWR's 2026 forecast sends early-spring crappie and white bass anglers to the "headwater areas (mouth of Laurel and Rockcastle rivers)" and calls the "riverine section of the upper lake" catfish water — and there is no KDFWR lake ramp above Burnside on the record. That is the forecast's statement, dated 2026; the rest is the shape of a river reservoir, not a survey.
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 · US 27 Access and limits
Five launches, in order down US 27
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
LakeviewNoLight boats, paved single lane, dock, no restrooms. Corps day-use ramp, year-round.
Waitsboro Rec. AreaYesAny trailerable, multi-lane, dock. Corps campground, 22 sites, 8 waterfront; seasonal, Recreation.gov.
Old Waitsboro CrossingNoVia KY 90 and Old KY 90 Loop 2. Light boats, paved, dock, no restrooms.
Burnside MarinaYesLight boats, single lane, 51+ parking, dock, marina year-round, retail.
Burnside Island SPNoAny trailerable, multi-lane, dock, restrooms, 101 campsites. Camping "open April-October" (KDFWR) or May–November (state page) — status pending.
Limits — four of them differ from statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Striped bass22 in minimum2
Walleye14 in minimum (statewide). Rockcastle above The Narrows: 18–26 in slot; below it, see the guide6; 2 above The Narrows
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." Camping on this road: Waitsboro (Corps) and General Burnside Island State Park, (606) 561-4104, "8 miles south of Somerset on US 27". 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