Kentucky Lake Boat Ramps

58 boat launches are mapped on Kentucky Lake in Lyon County, Marshall County, Trigg County, Calloway County, Livingston County, Kentucky.

Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. It was created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River via Kentucky Dam for flood control and hydroelectric power. The 160,309-acre (649 km2) lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the Mississippi River, with 2,064 miles (3,322 km) of shoreline. (Source: Wikipedia – Kentucky Lake, CC BY-SA 4.0)

42 of these launches include facility details from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Kentucky Lake facts

Surface area118,167 acres
TypeReservoir
Average depthabout 52 ft (normal storage ÷ surface area)
Shoreline lengthabout 457 miles
Surface elevation351 ft above sea level
DamKentucky Dam, completed 1944
Dam size206 ft high, 8,422 ft long, concrete dam
Dam purposesFlood Risk Reduction, Navigation, Recreation, Hydroelectric
Dam ownerTVA (Federal)
Normal storage6,127,470 acre-feet
Impounded streamTennessee River
Navigation locks1

Sources: USGS National Hydrography Dataset (public domain); HydroLAKES v1.0 (Messager et al. 2016, CC BY 4.0); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams (NID ID KY05017). Matched to this page by name and location; modelled values are approximate. See all sources.

Wildlife you might see at Kentucky Lake

Most-observed birds: Great Blue Heron (56), Osprey (50), Bald Eagle (45), Wild Turkey (36), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (35), American White Pelican (31), Canada Goose (31), Prothonotary Warbler (28), Summer Tanager (27), Barred Owl (27).

Other wildlife: Common Box Turtle (180), Fowler's Toad (129), Eastern Copperhead (104), Pond Slider (88), Common Watersnake (76), Ring-necked Snake (70).

Numbers are research-grade observations of each species recorded in and around the water by the iNaturalist community (289 bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species in the area). Sightings are not guaranteed.

Counties