Laurel River Lake paddle
Details
Laurel River Lake is located on London Ranger District and features 5,600 acres of clear, deep water and nearly 200 miles of tree-lined shore. The quiet coves and cliff-lined shores offer relaxation and quiet reflection, as well as boating, fishing, skiing and scuba diving in one of the deepest and cleanest lakes in Kentucky. Laurel River Lake’s geography is mostly sandstone, which means that much of the shoreline is a gentle slope that will allow us to go ashore almost anywhere with relative ease. There are also big rocks here and there, some featuring unique chisels from years of lapping water, and a few gently slope up out of the water, making for a good landing and/or rest spot.
Small rock shorelines are also common and because of the prevalent sandstone most of the feeder creeks have large, white sandy beaches at their heads. Dead tree screen off the mouths of many of these creeks, which keep motorized watercraft from entering, so there should be plenty of quiet water to explore.
According to what I’ve read recently online, the water visibility is around six to ten feet on the main body and up to twice that in the feeder creeks, so we should have some great paddling.
The Marsh Branch boat launch will put us on the water close to the protected Canada Goose management area of the lake, and from there we can do a little exploring up and down this part of the lake, stopping at a quiet spot for lunch or a snack before turning back. Total paddling time to be determined by the group, but I would expect to be on the water for 3-4 hours at a leisurely pace. In the event of bad weather, I'll move the date of the event to the following weekend (so long as the forecast looks reasonable.)
Plan on meeting at the Marsh Boat ramp launch (there is a good deal of parking at this location) at 9:00am or so, and plan to launch at 9:30am. Boat drop-off at the top of the ramp is possible as long as there is not a lot of traffic, but even so, the ramp is very close to the parking so we should not have to transport the boats very far at all in any event.
Be sure to bring snacks and/or a lunch (dealers choice) as well as plenty of drinking water. It's getting on into Summer and we'll likely have warm temperatures. Holly Bay Marina is not far from our put-in location, so you should be able to pick up light supplies (snacks, drinks, sunscreen, etc.) there if anyone forgets anything important.
Laurel River Lake Map:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3828791.pdf
Laurel River Lake website:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recreation/picnickinginfo/recarea/?recid=64851&actid=70
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a $3/day usage fee for this boat ramp according to the park website. Passes can be purchased in Lexington at J&H Landmark Store, Mike's Hike and Bike, or, at the Valero fuel station a short distance from the Interstate in the direction of the boat ramp. Also, if the webpage is correct, there is a self-pay station located in all fee areas, so please be sure to bring three dollars in cash for the pay-station. I will have pens with me if anyone needs one to fill out the pass.