Guist Creek Lake
Shelby County, Kentucky333 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Guist Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Public access
Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 66 µg/L. Surface area: 333.1 acres.
Guist Creek Lake is a 333-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Shelby County, Kentucky. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Shelby County, Guist Creek Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2022-09-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Guist Creek Lake covers about 330 acres in Shelby County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Guist Creek Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Guist Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Guist Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Guist Creek Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Guist Creek Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Guist Creek Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 66 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 66µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 65 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Guist Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
333 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
No bathymetric survey has been published for Guist Creek Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Guist Creek MarinaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Guist Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County, Kentucky — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Guist Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Guist Creek Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
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Fishing Guist Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2012–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Stable+0.84 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Guist Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Guist Creek Lake Dam (completed 1961), built primarily for water supply on the Guist Creek; earth-type dam, 60 ft tall and 1,060 ft long.
- Surface area
- 333.1 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,724 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 13,944 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 29.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00040 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Guist Creek Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KY-871 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Shelby County
Frequently asked questions about Guist Creek Lake
Where is Guist Creek Lake?
- Guist Creek Lake is a lake in Shelby County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Guist Creek Lake?
- Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 66 µg/L. Surface area: 333.1 acres.
Is Guist Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Guist Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Guist Creek Lake?
- Guist Creek Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Guist Creek Marina. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Guist Creek Lake?
- Guist Creek Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Guist Creek Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
49 measurements from 4 monitoring stations, 2012–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX49 samples · 2012–2022
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (4)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory