LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 11-1
McAlpine pool · River Road corridor · I-71 exit 2 · Utica Pike (IN) · Jefferson County

Ohio River at Louisville

The upper pool from inside the city: Cox's Park, a free multi-lane Metro Parks ramp with a courtesy dock at mile 599.8; Bandman Park, bank only, "no boats allowed"; and Duffy's Landing across the river in Jeffersonville. Downstream limit for all of them: the Clark Memorial Bridge, mile 603.5.

I-71 EXIT 2 · RIVER ROAD · UTICA PIKE Launches at KDFWR coordinates · hatched band is the RNA · schematic
I-71River Road · Zorn Ave exit 2Dam / tailraceMcAlpine Locks and DamRNA: no fishing craft, bridge to damBoat rampDuffy's LandingIndiana · no fee · multi-lane · accessibleBoat rampCox's ParkNo fee · multi-lane · dock · mile 599.8Walk-in accessBandman ParkBank only · "no boats allowed"N02 miSchematic · launches at KDFWR coordinates · hollow discs are other corridors · hatched band is the federal RNA
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"You can fish right up to the dam."Not from a boat. 33 CFR 165.815, Clark Memorial Bridge (mile 603.5) to McAlpine Dam (604.4): "No pleasure or fishing craft shall be operated within the regulated navigation area at any time."
"Read the pool level."There is no pool to read. The Corps holds McAlpine at 420 and Cannelton at 383 ft; what moves is stage: USGS 03294500 below the dam, 03293551 above. No lake parameter, no temperature.
"A Kentucky licence covers both banks."It does — the rules do not. 301 KAR 3:160 (eff. 16 Oct 2025); KDFWR: "when fishing from the bank, anglers shall follow the regulations of the state in which they are fishing." Indiana feeders need an Indiana licence.
What the river does on this road
Two launches, both paved, multi-lane, free and year-round 24 h on the record; Cox's has the dock, Duffy's the accessible ramp and 51-plus parking. Cox Park closes 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. What this road lacks is a way past the bridge: from 599.8 a paddler has under four miles of legal water downstream and 70-odd upstream — reasoning from the published miles.
The line is federal and it is at the Second Street bridge. "No pleasure or fishing craft shall be operated within the regulated navigation area at any time without prior permission of the Captain of the Port, Ohio Valley, except in case of emergency and except for passage through McAlpine Lock." 33 CFR 165.815, since 1990. Bandman Park: "no boats allowed" (KDFWR). 33 CFR 162.100 bars petroleum-laden tank vessels from mooring at "Kentucky Bank, Mile 599.8 (Cox's Park)" — the traffic that shares this water.
LIMESTONE DRIFT
OHIO RIVER AT LOUISVILLE · RIVER ROAD Access and limits
Three sites, one road in
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
Cox's ParkNo"I-71; Exit 2, Zorn Avenue N; right on River Road to Park". Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 26–50 paved parking, courtesy dock, restrooms (park lists them; record unknown), picnic, retail, lodging on the record. Ramp year-round, 24 h; park 6 a.m.–11 p.m. Mile 599.8.
Bandman Park · bankNo"I-71; Exit 2 - Zorn Avenue N; left on River Road to park (at mouth of Beargrass Creek)". Bank access, paved parking 51+, shoreline year-round limited hours. "no boats allowed."
Duffy's Landing · INNo"On Utica Pike at Pawnee Drive in Jeffersonville". Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 51+ paved parking, no dock, restrooms, picnic and shoreline year-round 24 h, accessible restrooms, parking and ramp. Indiana rules from this bank.
Limits — three special rules, then statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Striped, hybrid, white bassno minimum · only 4 of 15 in or longer30 combined
Blue or flathead catfishone 35 in or longerno creel under 35
Channel catfishone 28 in or longerno creel under 28
Sauger, saugeye, walleye14 in minimum (statewide)6 · Indiana the same
Black bass12 in largemouth and smallmouth (statewide)6 combined
Crappiestatewide20 · Indiana bank 30
Everything else is statewide, yellow bass included (no limit). From a Kentucky-licensed boat, Kentucky's rules; from the Indiana bank, Indiana's (sauger 6 at 14 in, black bass 6 at 12 in, stripers 30 combined, crappie 30, snagging prohibited river-wide). Kentucky snagging: "a person may not snag within 200 yards below any dam on the Ohio River." Falls of the Ohio NWCA (36 CFR 331): no bow and arrow, no trotlines, no swimming. Camping on this road: none on any record. Marinas: none listed by KDFWR. Fish attractors: KDFWR publishes none on the Ohio River.
Live stage: USGS 03294500, Ohio River at Louisville (below the dam) · USGS 03293551 (above the dam) · NWS MLUK2 / MLPK2 · no lake parameter, no temperature · pools 455 / 420 / 383 ft (USACE, datum not stated) · McAlpine Locks and Dam office, 805 N 27th St, (502) 774-3514.
Sources: USACE LRD and Louisville District pages for McAlpine, Markland and Cannelton; releases 25-142 and 23-001; KDFWR waterbody record 337, the fourteen access-site records, the reciprocal-agreements page, the 2026–27 Fishing and Boating Guide, the 2026 Fishing Forecast and the 2 Dec 2020 Kentucky Afield piece; 301 KAR 1:201 and 3:160; 33 CFR 165.815, 162.100, Part 334; 36 CFR 331; USGS 03294500, 03293551, 03293600, 03293548; Louisville Metro Parks; Oldham County Parks; Falls of the Ohio Foundation; Indiana DNR 2026 regulations.
Conditions change. Verify stage, access and regulations before you travel. Revised October 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/ohio-river-louisville/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the stage, the ramps or the rules actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=ohio-river-louisville