Shanty Hollow Lake
Warren County, Kentucky135 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Shanty Hollow Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 32 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Shanty Hollow Lake in Warren County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 18.1 µg/L. Surface area: 135 acres.
Shanty Hollow Lake is a 135-acre mesotrophic lake in Warren County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2019-09-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Shanty Hollow Lake covers about 140 acres in Warren County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Shanty Hollow Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Shanty Hollow Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Shanty Hollow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Shanty Hollow 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 Shanty Hollow Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Shanty Hollow 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 18.1 µg/L. TSI 46.
| 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 | 18.1µg/L | Good 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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Shanty Hollow Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Surface area
135 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Shanty Hollow Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
463 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Shanty Hollow LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Shanty Hollow Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Shanty Hollow Lake in Warren 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 Shanty Hollow 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.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Kentucky’s top lakes →
Follow Shanty Hollow Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Shanty Hollow Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2016–2019). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.63 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Shanty Hollow Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Shanty Hollow Lake Dam (completed 1950), built primarily for recreation on the Green River; earth-type dam, 33 ft tall and 670 ft long.
- Surface area
- 135 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,607.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,140 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00162 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Shanty Hollow 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-1697 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Warren County
Frequently asked questions about Shanty Hollow Lake
Where is Shanty Hollow Lake?
- Shanty Hollow Lake is a lake in Warren County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Shanty Hollow Lake?
- Shanty Hollow Lake in Warren County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 18.1 µg/L. Surface area: 135 acres.
Is Shanty Hollow Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Shanty Hollow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Shanty Hollow Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Shanty Hollow Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 135 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Shanty Hollow Lake?
- Shanty Hollow Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Shanty Hollow Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Shanty Hollow Lake?
- Shanty Hollow 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 Shanty Hollow Lake across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Mammoth Cave?
Shanty Hollow Lake is about 14 miles from Mammoth Cave National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Mammoth Cave →More lakes in Kentucky
Other Lakes in Kentucky
Mesotrophic Lakes in Kentucky
Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2016–2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX15 samples · 2016–2019
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory