Kentucky Lakes Area Profile
The Kentucky Lakes Area is made up of Kentucky Lake from Kentucky Dam to Interstate 40, all of Lake Barkley, and Land Between The Lakes. There are ten counties in the area, five each in Kentucky and Tennessee. Those are Livingston, Lyon, Trigg, Marshall and Calloway counties in Kentucky. In Tennessee, the area includes Henry, Stewart, Benton, Houston and Humphreys counties.
Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are two twin artificial lakes that are very similar in nature. Kentucky Lake was born in the early 1940s when Kentucky Dam was built at Gilbertsville, Kentucky along the Tennessee River. Lake Barkley was created in the early 1960s when Barkley Dam was built near Grand Rivers, Kentucky, just two miles east of Kentucky Dam. A canal was constructed in the 1960s which connected the two lakes.
After the creation of both lakes and the canal, a large peninsula sprung up eight miles in width and nearly 40 miles in length. This area, formerly known at "Between The Rivers", was acquired by TVA throughout the late 1960s. Land Between The Lakes was born in 1969 when Rushing Creek Campground was opened.
The heart of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley is located in a rural but very accessible area approximately 100 miles northwest of Nashville, Tenn., or about 200 miles south of St. Louis, Mo.
Folks from Nashville can reach the southern part of Kentucky Lake via I-40 in just over an hour.
Kentucky Lake is 184 miles long, while Barkley is a little smaller in width and length. The elevation of the lakes range from 354' to 359', and the general elevation of the area ranges from 320' to 860'.
Local Population
Southern hospitality reigns throughout our region. You'll find many small towns dotted across the ten-county region of the Kentucky Lakes Area with only two towns, Murray, Ky. and Paris, Tenn., with populations exceeding 10,000.
City | 2018 Est. | 2010 Census | County |
Murray, KY | 19,348 | 17,741 | Calloway |
Paris, TN | 10,057 | 10,156 | Henry |
Benton, KY | 4,469 | 4,349 | Marshall |
Waverly, TN | 4,080 | 4,105 | Humphreys |
Camden, TN | 3,575 | 3,582 | Benton |
Cadiz, KY | 2,665 | 2,558 | Trigg |
Eddyville, KY | 2,528 | 2,554 | Lyon |
Calvert City, KY | 2,502 | 2,566 | Marshall |
New Johnsonville, TN | 1,905 | 1,905 | Humphreys |
Dover, TN | 1,480 | 1,417 | Stewart |
Tennessee Ridge, TN | 1,329 | 1,368 | Houston |
Erin, TN | 1,292 | 1,324 | Houston |
Puryear, TN | 667 | 671 | Henry |
Kuttawa, KY | 667 | 649 | Lyon |
Hardin, KY | 610 | 615 | Marshall |
Big Sandy, TN | 524 | 551 | Benton |
Henry, TN | 465 | 464 | Henry |
Hazel, KY | 407 | 410 | Calloway |
Grand Rivers, KY | 371 | 382 | Livingston |
Cumberland City, TN | 308 | 311 | Stewart |
Cottage Grove, TN | 86 | 88 | Henry |
County | 2018 Est. | 2010 Census | Principle City |
Calloway (KY) | 39,135 | 37,191 | Murray |
Henry (TN) | 32,358 | 32,330 | Paris |
Marshall (KY) | 31,191 | 31,148 | Benton |
Lyon (KY) | 8,009 | 8,314 | Eddyville |
Trigg (KY) | 14,643 | 14,339 | Cadiz |
Stewart (TN) | 13,561 | 13,324 | Dover |
Livingston (KY) | 9,242 | 9,519 | Grand Rivers |
Houston (TN) | 8,263 | 8,426 | Erin |
Benton (TN) | 16,184 | 16,489 | Camden |
Humphreys (TN) | 18,486 | 18,538 | Waverly |
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