The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District announces changes to several Corps-managed day use recreational areas and campgrounds for the upcoming 2023 recreation season. Recreational areas at Buckhorn Lake in Buckhorn, Kentucky, and Carr Creek Lake in Sassafrass, Kentucky, both suffered extensive damage during the flash flooding event in July 2022 and require additional cleanup and reconstruction.

While significant efforts have been made to clean-up and restore impacted recreational areas, many are still inaccessible and unusable at this time. For example, in hardest hit areas such as Littcarr Campground at Carr Creek Lake, the tollhouse, bathhouses and water and sewage distribution systems were destroyed, and are awaiting funding for repairs.

“We recognize how important these facilities are to not only the local community, but also to visitors who travel from afar to enjoy our lakes in Eastern Kentucky,” said Waylon Humphrey, Chief, Operations Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District. “It is our sincere hope that we can perform these much-needed cleanup and reconstruction efforts and open these areas back up as soon as possible.”

A complete listing of anticipated closures and delayed openings for the 2023 Recreation Season is shown below:

Carr Creek Lake 2023 Recreation Season
Carr Creek Damsite - OPEN
Carr Creek Marina Day Use - OPEN
Littcarr Campground - CLOSED
Littcarr Day Use - Partial Opening/Delayed Opening
Littcarr Ramp - Partial Opening/Delayed Opening

Buckhorn Lake 2023 Recreation Season
Buckhorn Lake Dam - OPEN
Confluence Recreation Area - OPEN

Leatherwood Recreation Area - Partial Opening/Delayed Opening
Tailwater Recreation Area - Partial Opening/Delayed Opening
Trace Branch Recreation Area - CLOSED

At this time visitors will not be able to make campground reservations on Recreation.gov except for campgrounds that are listed as OPEN in 2023, unless otherwise announced.
It is important to note that some facilities, such as marinas and campgrounds, are operated by other entities such as Carr Creek Lake State Park and Buckhorn State Park. We recommend that the public contact the respective state agencies and marinas directly for the latest on their operating status.

 

USACE will continue to keep the public informed of any additional updates throughout the recreation season. For the latest information follow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District at: https://www.facebook.com/LouisvilleUSACE/ or Buckhorn Lake at: https://www.facebook.com/BuckhornLakeUSACE and Carr Creek Lake at: https://www.facebook.com/CarrCreekUSACE.

For specific questions regarding impacts to each recreational area, contact: Buckhorn Lake Project Office: (606) 398-7251 or Carr Creek Lake Project Office: (606) 642-3308.

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