Lake Barkley
Trigg County, KentuckyView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Barkley. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Barkley in Trigg County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility.
Lake Barkley is a lake in Trigg County, Kentucky. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 7 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2017-08-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Barkley is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch7 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Barkley is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Barkley 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 Lake Barkley
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Lake Barkley, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.9 ft of visibility. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| 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. | 68 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Barkley
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Recreation & Access
- Devil's ElbowPublic
- Devil's Elbow CorpsPublic
- Donaldson Creek - Calhoun HillPublic
- Lake Barkley State ParkPublic
- Little RiverPublic
- Cadiz Roadside ParkPublic
Showing 6 of 7 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Barkley
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Barkley in Trigg 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Barkley
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Fishing Lake Barkley
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Barkley 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-166 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Trigg County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Barkley
Where is Lake Barkley?
- Lake Barkley is a lake in Trigg County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Barkley?
- Lake Barkley in Trigg County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility.
Is Lake Barkley safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Barkley is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Barkley?
- Lake Barkley has 7 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Devil's Elbow, Devil's Elbow Corps, Donaldson Creek - Calhoun Hill, Lake Barkley State Park, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Barkley?
- Lake Barkley has 7 documented boat landings 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 Lake Barkley across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Kentucky's top lakes, each with its readings
Kentucky's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Where this data comes from
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS2 samples · 2017
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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