Southern Lakes Region

The Southern Lakes Region covers the south-central country of Kentucky between the Cumberland River and the Tennessee line, a stretch of mountain-edge and lake country built around Lake Cumberland and the Big South Fork drainage. The terrain runs hilly and wooded — the Pottsville Escarpment rising along the eastern edge, deep limestone-and-sandstone creeks cut by the upper Cumberland and Green rivers, hardwood forest covering most of the public land. Ten counties cover the region. Pulaski holds Somerset, the largest city; Russell holds Russell Springs and Jamestown; Wayne holds Monticello; Adair holds Columbia; Taylor holds Campbellsville; Clinton holds Albany; McCreary holds Stearns and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Lake Cumberland (one of the largest reservoirs in the eastern U.S. with 1,255 miles of shoreline at full pool) anchors the region; Daniel Boone National Forest covers much of McCreary and Wayne counties. Most trips here run lake-and-outdoor focused. Lake Cumberland handles the houseboat-and-fishing traffic — the largest houseboat fleet in the country docks here; the Big South Fork Scenic Railway out of Stearns runs through the canyon; the Sheltowee Trace Trail and General Burnside Island State Park handle hiking and water access. Summer is peak; fall foliage runs strong through October.