Kentucky: Commerce Cabinet - may25newsletter

Friends of Lake Cumberland –

Parking Shuttle Starts At General Burnside Island State Park

BURNSIDE, Ky. – The Kentucky State Parks will be offering a parking shuttle service to Lake Cumberland boaters who use the boat ramp at General Burnside Island State Park starting with the Memorial Day weekend.

The service will run on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and holidays from dawn to sundown. It will make stops at the parking lot near the community pool, the park and ride lot that was created to handle overflow parking and the boat ramp that has been extended and will be open for this weekend. The ramp at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park at Jamestown is also open.

Burnside is one of 21 ramps around Lake Cumberland that will be open for the holiday weekend. For more information and directions to boat ramp locations around Lake Cumberland, visit http://tourism.ky.gov/lakecumberland2007.htm

For more information, call General Burnside Island State Park at 606-561-3625.

Ramp Openings at Lake Cumberland for Memorial Day Weekend

State Ensuring Awareness and Access for the Holiday Weekend

(Frankfort, KY) – Boat ramps at General Burnside Island State Park and Lake Cumberland State Resort Park are reopening this week. Burnside will have five lanes for launching and is scheduled to open Friday morning. Lake Cumberland State Resort Park will have three lanes for launching and is now open. Total cost of these two ramp extensions is approximately $500,000.

In addition, The Governor’s Office for Local Development (GOLD) is coordinating the extension of 29 county boat ramps at Lake Cumberland in Wayne, Russell and Pulaski counties. Funds for ramp extensions have been taken from the Transportation Cabinet Discretionary Fund. Work will begin immediately. No timetable is available for completion of the ramps. Total cost of these extensions will be nearly $860,000.

“Based on numerous town hall meetings in the area, Governor Ernie Fletcher has directed state government to have as many ramps as possible operational before the beginning of the summer boating season,” said Commerce Cabinet Secretary George Ward. “We initially focused on the high volume launching areas and have twenty ramps already opening for Memorial Day Weekend. Extending these county ramps will provide additional access all around the lake in the coming weeks. Lake Cumberland has plenty of water and is open for business.”

Ramp extensions are required due to necessary repair work being done on Wolf Creek Dam. Repairs required the lake level to be reduced to 680 feet above sea level, leaving some ramps exposed. Ramp extension projects have been a collaborative effort between the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Kentucky State Parks, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and GOLD.

Vacationers with questions about the lake or lake access are encouraged to call the Southern and Eastern Tourism Development Association at 877-868-7735 or 511 in Kentucky.

Information regarding Lake Cumberland can be found at the Kentucky Department of Tourism website at: http://www.kentuckytourism.com/lakecumberland2007.htm

For a map of specific ramps open for the holiday weekend, including directions, click on the link above then click on the link: “map of boat ramps open for Memorial Day weekend”. The map will be updated weekly.

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LIST OF COUNTY RAMPS TO BE EXTENDED IN THE COMING WEEKS

Russell County ramp extension projects total: $479,409. Ramps to be extended are:

Bates road ramp Pleasant Hill ramp

Campbells road ramp Poplar Hill road ramp

Clifty Creek ramp Rowena ramp

Denney Ridge ramp Twin Oak ramp

Island road ramp

Wayne County ramp extension projects total $313,505. Ramps to be extended are:

Bunkum Road/Carter’s Dock ramp Ramsey Point ramp

Clearwater/Panhandle ramp Shelton Branch ramp

Cumberland Glen ramp Stinger/Rankin-Orchard ramp

Jonesville ramp Tate I ramp

Meece-Sellars/White Oak ramp Tate II ramp

Mystic View ramp Twyfor’s Point ramp

Park Forest/Beshears ramp

Pulaski County ramp extension projects total $64,935. Ramps to be extended are:

Cave Creek ramp (Diamond Acres Community)

Doodletown road ramp (Garland Bend ramp)

Echo Point boat ramp (Aderholt road)

Jasper Bend ramp (Jasper Bend Community)

Piney Woods boat ramp (Naomi Community)

Springwater boat ramp (Pole Bridge Community)

Waitstboro Crossing ramp (End of Old Waitsboro road)

20 RAMPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE OPEN IN TIME FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT LAKE CUMBERLAND

LIST OF RAMPS SCHEDULED TO BE OPEN FOR THE MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND

Alligator II
Beaver Creek
Conley Bottom Resort
Cumberland Point recreation Area
Fall Creek Recreation Area
General Burnside Island State Park
Grider Hill Marina
Halcomb’s Landing
Jamestown Marina
Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
Lee’s Ford Marina
Lilly Creek
Noes Dock #2 (Bee’s Creek)
Old Waitsboro Crossing
Omega/Buck Creek Marina
Ono
Piney Grove
Pleasant Hill
Slate Branch
Waitsboro Recreation Area