Lake Cumberland Resort Owners Pleased With Weekend’s Turnout

BURNSIDE, Ky. — There’s plenty of room at one of Kentucky’s most popular summer destinations, but resort owners on Lake Cumberland are optimistic the summer will bring much-needed relief to the region.

Normally packed with boaters, kayakers and campers, the state’s third-largest lake has been quiet most of the spring after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to reduce the water level on the lake by 40 feet while repairing leaks on Wolf Creek Dam.

The drop in water level had an immediate impact on the usually bustling lake. Tourism spending is down 63 percent compared to last year at Lake Pointe Resort in Russell County, according to owner Tina Begley. Reservations for rooms and boats at Lee’s Ford Marina Resort in Pulaski County were down 43 percent in May.

Still, there is optimism that things are turning around as the temperature heats up and word gets out that life in lake country is still hopping.

Ron Kin was skeptical when he brought his family down for Memorial Day weekend. A frequent visitor to the lake, he worried that the drop in water level would make too many parts of it inaccessible.

As he brought his 27-foot Sea Ray out for the first time this year on Saturday, his fears dissolved while his family went wakeboarding, tubing and water skiing.

“There’s still plenty of room to play, and it’s still beautiful,” he said. “We’ll be down here every weekend.”

The Corps of Engineers estimates about 200,000 people will visit the lake during Memorial Day weekend, about an 18 percent drop from a year ago.

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