{"id":20989,"date":"2026-07-27T15:20:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/?p=20989"},"modified":"2026-07-27T15:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:20:07","slug":"kentucky-dams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/2026\/07\/27\/kentucky-dams\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Dams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-1024x269.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-1024x269.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-300x79.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-150x39.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-768x202.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k-1536x404.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/35470563515_5e19a59a71_k.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As summer heat peaks, we&#8217;re taking a closer look at two massive structural features that shaped eastern Kentucky&#8217;s landscape: <strong>Cave Run Dam<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Laurel River Dam<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Cave Run and Laurel River Dams sit within the Daniel Boone National Forest, carving out some of the clearest waters, super scenic trail networks, and best fishing in the region. Check out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kygeonet.ky.gov\/catalogexplorer\/?lat=36.958148&amp;lon=-84.266950&amp;utm_source=brevo&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletter_2026_July_2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kentucky From Above Explorer<\/a>\u00a0for bird&#8217;s eye views of the beaches,\u00a0dams, and lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cave Run Dam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and completed in 1974, Cave Run Dam tames the Licking River. The resulting 8,270 acre reservoir,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.recreation.gov\/gateways\/359?utm_source=brevo&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletter_2026_July_2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cave Run Lake<\/a>, is framed by rolling hills and limestone bluffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Campgrounds and Beaches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Zilpo Recreation Area:<\/strong>\u00a0Family-friendly and situated on a lush peninsula, Zilpo features a wide sandy swimming beach, a store, and bathhouses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Day-Use Beach:<\/strong>\u00a0Day-use passes run ~$5 per vehicle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Camping Rates:<\/strong>\u00a0Campsites start at $65\/night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nearby Trails<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Z<strong>ilpo Mountain Loop:<\/strong>\u00a0A scenic 2.25-mile loop climbing up to elevated lake overlooks. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Twin Knobs &amp; Caney Loop:<\/strong>\u00a0Nearby systems offering mild terrain, ridge-line walks, and connector routes into deeper backcountry tracks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Laurel River Dam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also completed in 1974, the Laurel River Dam stands 282 feet high, impounding a steep-sided gorge to create the 5,600-acre\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/r08\/danielboone\/recreation\/holly-bay-campground?utm_source=brevo&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletter_2026_July_2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Laurel River Lake<\/a>. Because the shoreline is mostly undeveloped federal forestland, it contains some of the clearest, deepest waters in Kentucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Campgrounds &amp; Beaches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Corbin Beach \/ Spillway Beach:<\/strong>\u00a0Located less than a mile from the dam, this 725-foot sandy beach offers a calm area for swimming along the cliff-lined banks. Beach access is free.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Holly Bay &amp; Grove Campgrounds:<\/strong>\u00a0Starting at $32\/per night<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boat-In Camping:<\/strong>\u00a0Whiteoak and Grove offer primitive boat-in campsites tucked away in secluded coves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nearby Trails<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail:<\/strong>\u00a0Kentucky&#8217;s premier long-distance trail crosses directly over the Laurel Dam spillway.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Damsite Trail:<\/strong>\u00a0A short, accessible trail offering elevated vistas of both the intake structure and the tailwaters cutting through the gorge below<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As summer heat peaks, we&#8217;re taking a closer look at two massive structural features that shaped eastern Kentucky&#8217;s landscape: Cave Run Dam\u00a0and\u00a0Laurel River Dam. Both Cave Run and Laurel River Dams sit within the Daniel Boone National Forest, carving out some of the clearest waters, super scenic trail networks, and best fishing in the region. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18803,"featured_media":20991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-20989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-kyfromabove","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18803"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20993,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20989\/revisions\/20993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outragegis.com\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}