Taylorsville Lake State Park is a park encompassing in Spencer County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, roughly midway between Louisville and Lexington.

Taylorsville Lake Taylorsville Lake is a artificial lake or reservoir located mainly in Spencer County, Kentucky. As of 12/19/21 Taylorsville Lake has become a hotspot for migrating ducks. According to Central KY Waterfowlers the lake is currently holding a record ...

, its major feature, extends into parts of Anderson County and Nelson County. Taylorsville Lake gains its name from the nearby town, named for President Zachary Taylor's father, Richard Taylor, who donated of his own land for creation of the town. The lake was created when the United States Army Corps of Engineers chose to dam the Salt River, thereby creating the lake, with its public opening in January 1983. The dam, which measures a height of and a length of , cost $28.8 million to build. The resulting lake is in total area, has of shoreline, and is long.

Activities and amenities

There is both a park office, maintained by the state of Kentucky, and a visitors center maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The visitors center is pyramid-shaped with a brown metal roof, and contains displays of the local trees, boating, and dam management. Fishing is the main attraction, as Taylorsville Lake is the most heavily stocked lake in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; it is known for its

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 ...

, and features bass and

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

. This is facilitated by a rule that bass must be long, at minimum, to be legally caught and kept; crappie must be ; bluegill are not sport fish and there is no minimum size. There are also of hiking trails in the park, but these are seen as poor quality by hiking enthusiasts as their use by equestrian traffic has made the hiking trails like "a

plow A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

had chattered down them". Camping was not available at the park until 1998.

References

External links

Taylorsville Lake State Park
Kentucky Department of Parks {{authority control Protected areas of Anderson County, Kentucky State parks of Kentucky Protected areas of Nelson County, Kentucky Protected areas of Spencer County, Kentucky Protected areas established in 1983 1983 establishments in Kentucky Salt River (Kentucky)