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KY · USACE Louisville · Rough River Dam

Rough River Lake

A western Kentucky family lake with a state resort park and lodge.

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

Daily elevation (ft)

Live · provisional
467478489500511NovJanMarMayJulSepFULL POOL 490.0
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.

Rough River Lake, KY

USACE Louisville · Rough River Dam
Live · provisional
487.48 ft▼ 2.2 ft / 7 days
2.5 ft below summer full pool (490.0 ft)
490.0Full pool (ft)
487.0Guide curve today
487.8This date last year
−0.3vs. last year (ft)

As of Oct 22, 5:00 PM CDT · USGS latest-continuous · Provisional, not for navigation.

Sources

USACE CWMS LRL Rough.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.lrldlb-comp: https://cwms-data.usace.army.mil/cwms-data/timeseries?name=Rough.Elev....
USACE CWMS LRL seasonal level "Rough 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-03318005 (62614): https://api.waterdata.usgs.gov/ogcapi/v0/collections/latest-continuous...
Summer 490 ft / winter 470 ft, verified Oct 22, 2026
Full pool basis: USACE published summer pool (current operating restriction)
Fetched Oct 22, 5:23 PM CDT
Note: Full pool set to published 490 (CWMS constant level 495 superseded; see pool sources).
Note: USGS reading newer than CWMS; using USGS for current.
Plan your day

More for Rough River Lake

Rent a boat

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

Nick's Boat Dock
McDaniels, KY
Pontoon
📞 270-257-8955
Source: local marina guide · Contact: todayatroughriver.com listing
Clements Marine
Falls of Rough, KY
Pontoon
📞 270-257-2073✉️ clementsmarine@yahoo.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 The summary below is a convenience copy and can go out of date.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 Rough River Lake:

White crappieBlack crappieHybrid striped bassLargemouth 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
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

rampramprampramp
RampMarinaFuelBait/tackle
Boat ramps (4)
  • + 4 unnamed (shown on map)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. Fetched Oct 22, 3:40 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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Some lodging links may become affiliate links (disclosure).