Pennyrile Forest Naturalist and Recreation Blog

All of the park's trails are open. There are a few trees down on the Pennyrile Nature Trail and Indian Bluff trail, which our work crew will remove the week of 12/05/2011. Otherwise the trails are in great condition. Please report any problems on the trail to us at the front desk or by contacting me at the number/email listed below.

If you would like to volunteer to help our staff with trail maintenance please email me or call Rebecca Clark at 1-800-325-1711.

Please abide by all trail rules and regulations while hiking. We recommend hikers use bug repellent, and check themselves for ticks after hiking.

Take only pictures and leave only footprints.

Pennyrile Lake is a 56-acre man-made lake. Boats with gasoline engines are not allowed on the lake. You may bring your own small fishing boat, kayak, or canoe, but we do not have a boat ramp, so you’ll have to carry it to the lake. We also have pedal boats, row boats, and canoes that can be rented by the hour or by the day at our boat dock, which is open April-October.

The sport fish that can be caught in the lake are: Bluegill, Red-ear Sunfish, Crappie, Large-mouth Bass, and Channel Catfish. The bluegill population is healthy. Bluegill can be caught from the boardwalk area between the beach and boat dock, or by renting a boat and fishing towards the shore. If you’re fishing for Red-ear the best area of the lake to try is the far end of the lake, farthest from the lodge in shallow water. The Large-mouth bass population is overpopulated with fish 12” and under. There is a slot limit on largemouth bass which only allows one to take six fish under 12” or over 15”. The hope is that the fish in the size class of 12-15” will grow larger if they are not taken from the lake. In the spring Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife biologists sampling the lake, caught several crappie on the fallen trees that reach out into the lake near the lakeside cottages. The fisheries biologists also recommend fishing near beaver lodges on the edges of the lake. They always are able to catch a good deal fish near these structures.


Bluegill caught by Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife while sampling the lake.