Shanty Hollow Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

mostly in

Warren County, Kentucky Warren County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,554, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kentucky. The county seat is Bowling Green. Warren Coun ...

, but also extending into Edmonson County. It was constructed in 1951. The lake is located approximately north of

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

and is used for fishing. Fish which may be taken from the lake include

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

redear sunfish The redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus''), also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch) is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeast ...

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

white crappie The white crappie (''Pomoxis annularis'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two species of crappies. Alternate common names for the species include goldring and silver perch. is named for the fish. The genus name ''Pomoxis ...

warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawberry perch. Descrip ...

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

, and

common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

. Shanty Hollow Lake is a man-made lake, created by the damming of Clay Lick Creek. Warmouth or Walleye have not been seen in this lake for years. It is a lake fed by both stream and spring. Shanty Hollow has a unique sandstone geology, underlying shale and subsequent limestone. It is popular with the local population for rock climbing and rappelling. It has a waterfall and a spring. Most of the land surrounding the lake is privately owned. There are many fossil molds and impressions of wood and bark structures in the sandstone facies, and many of these have been replaced with iron concretions. The lake has a boat ramp and parking area that are in general to major disrepair. Trash and stray or drop off animals are a continued problem due to the rural location of the lake. Vandalism is highly present in the parking area. The main trail is to the right of the parking area, leading down towards the sandstone bluffs and an area called White Buffalo; it is called this due to a pastel drawing of a white buffalo or wolf drawn on the palisades of a box type canyon. Multiple climbing routes are located along this trail with numerous rock shelters and boulders to climb. Further down, the trail gains elevation and leads to a unique section of rock where the water has carved a zig-zag of formations and least 12 feet deep and 30 feet long; this is known affectionately as the "Mini Grand Canyon". Past numerous dripping springs lies a waterfall. This area is used as a free fall rappel area and has a picnic area. Across the creek are more sandstone bluffs and rock shelters that contain delicate wind formed structures in the sandstone known as honeycomb formations. Shany Hollow lake is considered one of the top ten most unusual and beautiful places in South Central Kentucky.

References

{{authority control 1951 establishments in Kentucky Protected areas of Edmonson County, Kentucky Reservoirs in Kentucky Protected areas of Warren County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Edmonson County, Kentucky Bodies of water of Warren County, Kentucky

See also

References