The writer (Les Painter) along with wife Cheryl and daughter Paige first visited the Dale Hollow / Lake Cumberland area in the summer of 1988. Since this time we have purchased two other pieces of land and had 4 cabins constructed on the original purchase. The foothills of the APPALACHAINS were no doubt a beautiful place to live prior to the two Army Corp Lake impoundments of Dale Hollow and Lake Cumberland.

    This is the prime reason I have chosen to make this special area a part of our future. The lakes are clean (in fact clear) and very big as Dale Hollow is 65 miles long and Lake Cumberland 101 miles in length. They have 640 and 1200 miles of shoreline respectively. They are 150 and 200 feet deep and when winter draw down occurs the lakes are still quite usable and always liquid. Lake swimming begins around Memorial Day and can be comfortable until October. Both Dale Hollow and Lake Cumberland have State Parks around them that are 3500 and 7000 acres in size. These parks have trails, lodging, camping, swimming pools, boat ramps, restaurants, and golf courses (Dale Hollow State Park's 18 hole championship course opened July 1 2003).

    In the unlikely event that you become bored with these two lakes consider some (within one hour away) options such as Cedar Hill, Green River, Barren River, Nolin Lake, Cordell Hull, Rough River or Laurel River impoundments. Kentucky has one half million acres of man made reservoirs. Both Dale Hollow and Lake Cumberland have several other beautiful parks that touch their shores and South of Dale Hollow is Standing Stone State Park with its own 70 acre lake. Although these two big lakes touch many counties in Kentucky and Tennessee our focus has been Cumberland County.

    Its proximity to the water is a draw but its low population (approximately 7000) and the fact that it is 60% forest is a rare find. Big South Fork and The Daniel Boone National Forest are also day trips from this area. In the past, retirees have sought the edges of our country so they could live in warm climates and have an ocean to view. Most of these areas have populated to a point that they no longer afford one of the greatest advantages of solitude. This lake area and the connected rivers still allow a person to truly get away from it all.




FISHING GUIDES:

Randy Gibson - (270)433-7395
Greg Cary - (270)864-7108
KY Trophy Fishing - (270)433-6333
Joe Cary - (270)433-5814
John & Johnny Rush - (270)433-7674
Mark Wasiloski - (606)348-9927 - www.stripertime.com