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KY · USACE Louisville · Barren River Dam

Barren River Lake

A state-park lake near Glasgow, known for crappie and family beaches.

LevelsRentalsFishingRamps & marinasThings to doLodging
Tripp the Otter
Water level · past year

Daily elevation (ft)

Live · provisional
526533541548556NovJanMarMayJulSepFULL POOL 552.0
Daily elevationSummer full poolOperating guide curve
Provisional data — not for navigation. Readings come from public agency feeds and may be revised or delayed. Always check official sources and posted notices before boating.

Barren River Lake, KY

USACE Louisville · Barren River Dam
Live · provisional
550.42 ft▼ 0.4 ft / 7 days
1.6 ft below summer full pool (552.0 ft)
552.0Full pool (ft)
546.7Guide curve today
548.9This date last year
+1.5vs. last year (ft)

As of Oct 22, 4:30 PM CDT · USGS latest-continuous · Provisional, not for navigation.

Sources

USACE CWMS LRL Barren.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.lrldlb-comp: https://cwms-data.usace.army.mil/cwms-data/timeseries?name=Barren.Elev...
USACE CWMS LRL seasonal level "Barren Bottom of Flood" (effective 2018-01-01): https://cwms-data.usace.army.mil/cwms-data/levels?office=LRL&unit=EN&p...
USGS Water Data OGC API latest-continuous USGS-03312900 (62614): https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/ogcapi/v0/collections/latest-continuous...
Summer 552 ft / winter 528 ft, verified Oct 22, 2026
Full pool basis: CWMS location level "Top of Conservation"
Fetched Oct 22, 5:23 PM CDT
Note: USGS reading newer than CWMS; using USGS for current.
Plan your day

More for Barren River Lake

Rent a boat

2 rental businesses on or near Barren River Lake. Badges show what each one's own site says they rent.

Barren River State Dock
Lucas, KY
PontoonFishing boatPaddle
📞 270-646-2357
Source: official site · Contact: official site
The Narrows Marina
Glasgow, KY
PontoonFishing boatPaddle
📞 270-883-2845✉️ info@barrenrivermarinas.com
Source: official site · Contact: official site

Call ahead. Rental availability is seasonal and fleets change, so confirm boats, hours and requirements with the business before you go.

Own a rental business? Get listed — contact@evrlakes.com

Check official regulations before you fish. The summary below is a convenience copy and can go out of date. Limits, size rules and closures change, so the KDFWR rules are the ones that count.

Fishing

Species the state wildlife agency highlights or regulates on Barren River Lake:

White crappieBlack crappieHybrid striped bassWhite bassYellow bassRedear sunfishSpotted bassBlue catfishChannel catfishWalleyeLargemouth bassSmallmouth bass

Special regulations (KDFWR)

White crappieMust be 10 inches or over, Statewide creel limits apply
Black crappieMust be 10 inches or over, Statewide creel limits apply
Hybrid striped bassStatewide Regulations Apply
White bassStatewide Regulations Apply
Yellow bassStatewide Regulations Apply
Redear sunfishStatewide Regulations Apply
Spotted bassStatewide Regulations Apply
Blue catfishLimit 15 per angler, channel catfish and blue catfish combined - No more than 1 fish may be over 25 inches
Channel catfishLimit 15 per angler, channel catfish and blue catfish combined - No more than 1 fish may be over 25 inches
Walleye18-26 inch protective slot limit. All fish between 18 and 26 inches must be released. Limit 2 per angler for other sizes.
Largemouth bassMust be 15 inches or over - Limit 6 per angler
Smallmouth bassMust be 15 inches or over - Limit 6 per angler

KDFWR special fishing regulations for this waterbody (read 2026-10-22). These apply to the Kentucky portion.

Boat ramps, marinas & fuel

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RampMarinaFuelBait/tackle
Marinas (2)
Boat ramps (13)
  • + 13 unnamed (shown on map)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. Fetched Oct 22, 3:30 PM CDT. OSM coverage is volunteer-made, so some places may be missing or outdated.

Things to do

Parks within roughly 8 miles of the lake's outer extent are listed from OpenStreetMap and the official park sites, plus federal areas from Recreation.gov.

Lodging & camping

Sources: Recreation.gov and OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Confirm dates and availability with the operator.

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