Kentucky Lake Levels Today
16 lakes and reservoirs · updated Sep 21, 2026
Lake Levels Today tracks 16 lakes and reservoirs in Kentucky. Of the 15 with a published full pool, 11 are at or above it and 1 are well below it. The highest relative to full pool is Fishtrap Lake (+0.70 ft) and the lowest is Lake Cumberland (−24.11 ft). Over the last 24 hours 1 rose and 6 fell by more than a twentieth of a foot; the rest held steady.
Every figure is the operating agency's own gauge reading, republished once a day. Open a lake for its staff gauge, a one-year chart, pool elevations and the source link. Elevations are in feet above the agency's vertical datum, so compare lakes by their distance from full pool, not by raw elevation.
| Lake | Elevation (ft) | From full | 24h |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Cumberland | 698.89 | −24.11 ft | −0.13 ft |
| Kentucky Lake | 355.30 | n/a | −0.19 ft |
| Lake Barkley | 355.50 | −3.50 ft | −0.20 ft |
| Rough River Lake | 490.09 | −4.91 ft | −0.03 ft |
| Barren River Lake | 551.90 | −0.10 ft | −0.06 ft |
| Buckhorn Lake | 781.58 | −0.42 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Carr Creek Lake | 1,028.01 | +0.01 ft | −0.08 ft |
| Cave Run Lake | 730.15 | +0.15 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Dewey Lake | 650.45 | +0.45 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Fishtrap Lake | 757.70 | +0.70 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Green River Lake | 674.85 | −0.15 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Laurel River Lake | 1,004.31 | −14.19 ft | −0.11 ft |
| Martins Fork Lake | 1,310.00 | no change | +0.12 ft |
| Nolin Lake | 515.28 | +0.28 ft | −0.05 ft |
| Paintsville Lake | 708.80 | −0.20 ft | −0.02 ft |
| Yatesville Lake | 629.72 | −0.28 ft | −0.03 ft |
Kentucky lake level questions
Which Kentucky lake is lowest right now?
Lake Cumberland, at 698.89 ft, −24.11 ft from its full pool of 723.00 ft.
How many Kentucky lakes are full?
11 of the 15 Kentucky lakes with a published full pool are within half a foot of it or above, and 1 are more than halfway down the conservation pool.
How often are Kentucky lake levels updated here?
Once a day. The readings on this page were pulled Sep 21, 2026; each lake page shows the exact timestamp of its gauge reading.