Posted in Louisville
August 15, 2017
10 Gorgeous Lakes To Visit Around Louisville This Summer
Summer is ending far too fast, which is why now is the perfect time to spend a day at the lake relaxing with friends and family. Whether it’s swimming, boating, fishing, or simply admiring the beautiful bodies of water around our city, there are plenty of lakes to suit your summer needs! Some of these lakes may require a bit of driving, but they’re all located under three hours away.
We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
McNeely Lake Park is located right here within the boundaries of Louisville and is a favorite for many residents in the city. This park offers beautiful trails, great fishing spots, boating ramps, and sports fields. This lake offers a little bit of everything for the entire family to enjoy.
Another beautiful lake located in Louisville is Waverly Lake. This lake offers mountain biking, fishing, grills, hiking trails, picnic areas, and a playground. The scenery here is a perfect setting to kick back, relax, and enjoy the outdoors.
Lake Nevin is located in the beautiful Bernheim Forest, just a short 20 to 30 minutes away from Louisville. It offers limited bank fishing, but the best thing to do here is walk around the trails and admire its beauty.
Located just 30 minutes away from Louisville in Southern Indiana, Deam Lake is like a dream. It has a public swimming area and many other designated areas for fishing, boating, swimming, camping, picnicking, hiking, and hunting across the Deam Lake Recreation Area. You can also rent rowboats here to fully enjoy your time out on the water. Deam Lake is an amazing place to camp and it's one of the nicest, closest lakes around Louisville.
Lake Shelby, located just under 40 minutes away in Shelbyville, is a fisherman's dream. The waters are loaded with bluegill, crappie, bass, catfish, and more. The lake is popular for fishing, but many people simply take their canoes and kayaks out and explore nature here.
Taylorsville Lake is located almost an hour away, but it's one of the best near the city. The lake is wonderful for camping, fishing, boating, hiking, and more. The 24-mile trail system around the lake allows for hiking, mountain biking, and even horseback riding. Birdwatching is popular here as well, as there are so many spectacular species that call this lake home, such as the Blue Heron seen above taking flight. The Van Buren Boat Ramp area also contains two nesting sites for the American Bald Eagle.
Located a little over an hour away in Scottsburg, Indiana, Hardy Lake offers hiking, boating, camping, and has an interesting raptor rehabilitation center with trained professionals who can teach you about the region's hawks, owls, falcons, and vultures.
Located and hour and a half away in Richmond, Kentucky, Lake Reba offers a surprising amount of amenities to entertain guests. They have a little league baseball complex, an adult softball complex, a batting cage, miniature and regular golf courses, the Paradise Cove Aquatic Center, a soccer complex, an off-leash dog park, a football field, walking/jogging trails, Herb Vescio horseshoe pits , and the fishing lake with boat ramp & fish cleaning station.
Located two and a half hours away in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Laurel River Lake is a beautiful man-made lake that was built in 1977 as a reservoir of the Laurel River. There's a pristine beach to swim at and the water is amazingly clear and clean. While you're in the area, you should also check out Cumberland Falls!
Also located two and a half hours away, the beautiful Cumberland Lake is surrounded with spots for hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and boating. Cumberland Lake prides itself in being "the Houseboat Capital of the World," as the marina offers 100 open slips, rental fishing boats, pontoon boats, houseboats, and ski boats. People just can't get enough of this gorgeous lake, so they decide to live on it!
What are your favorite lakes to visit around Louisville? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook! To learn about more beautiful Kentucky lakes, check out this article about the best lakes in the state.