Boating Kentucky & Barkley Lakes

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Boating on the Lakes

With hundreds of thousands of acres of water to splash around on, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are a boater's dream for the heartland of America. If you are thinking about making a trip to our lakes, getting familiar with them is the first step in the process. And you've come to the right place!

Want to Hit the Lakes, But Need a Boat?

We've got boat rentals - from pontoons to jet skis - for your enjoyment at Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.

Boating Information

Boating Overview

Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are well known as a water lover's playgrounds. Our lakes are large enough to accommodate all sizes and types of water and pleasure crafts.

Common types of watercraft that frequent the lake are personal watercraft (PWC), deck boats, pontoons, runabouts, speed and powerboats, ski boats, and fishing boats of all sizes and types.

The 184-mile Kentucky Lake is bordered on the east by Land Between the Lakes, one of Kentucky's most visited attractions. Inside this 170,000-acre play land you can live out any type of outdoor recreational activity imaginable.

Hike, bike, hunt, fish, camp and relax inside this non-commercialized haven of nature's preserved beauty.

Kentucky Lake is the largest man-made body of water east of the Mississippi River and one of many of a chain of lakes in Kentucky and Tennessee constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Covering over 160,300 acres of land, there is room for everyone, Kentucky Lake was created upon the completion of Kentucky Dam, a 206-foot embankment built in 1944.

Kentucky Dam's construction was part of a federal plan to control floods in the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and develop their tributaries.

Located in the Western Kentucky, beautiful Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake are within a day's drive from most of America's heartland, making these beautiful lakes a popular boating and watercraft destination.

Read these in-depth overviews about Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.