Dale Hollow Lake

[medicdiver]

Leaving for Dale Hollow Lake in TN for next week. Spending 7 days at Cedar Hill Resort. Anyone from the area got any info/suggestions? Lake info, places to go/avoid? Lake Conditions?

Thanks

[wienrdog]

Great lake - one of our favorites. We haven't spend too much time at the dam end of the lake for many years - we're typically up either of the two arms.

Enjoy your visit & spend a little time working your way up to Sunset Dock one day. Decent food at the restaurant there. It is quite a haul from Cedar Hill.

[medicdiver]

how far of a haul is it from cedar hill to sunset? What is the name of the restaurant?

[Wayne]

By water its about an hour to drive from Cedar Hill to Sunset. This of course depends on water conditions and your boat speed. Maybe an hour and 20 minutes taking you time at a comfortable 20 to 25 MPH. The resturaunt at Sunset shares the name with the marina.

Its worth spending a day seeing the whole lake and maybe checking out other marinas for what ammenities they have. We stay at Sunset, use their house boats or Eagle Cove. The Dam end of the river where you are at is kind of the sticks, but I think there is less boat traffic on the small fingers off the main channel. So for water sports sticking on your end of the lake is probably a good idea. If you desire a slalom course, reports on this site said there was one at Jolly Creek near Star Point and the one that is normaly up at Fanny's creek, near Wisdom Dock, wasn't in due to the lake level. That was Memorial Day so they may have brought the lake level down.

A note about the lake when the water is up, debris can be out in the open areas more. Last year it was up 5 feet or so above pool and we saw a lot of massive logs just below the surface that were easy to miss if you were at speed. Also bacteria in the water seems to go up when the water is high, more so when the temperatures are high too. Everyone in our group last year had ear infections, I think we have an open account with the doctor office there in Byrdstown. Just have everyone rinse their ears out with alcohol or peroxide each night, it usually does the trick.

I would try to see as much of the lake as possible. We used to take a break in the middle of the week from skiing and just drive to each Marina/Resort to see what ammenities they had. Sunset is kind of the end of that leg of the lake. There is one more marina after it, but it's not much to see. Wisdom Dock has a resturaunt, probably second best to Sunset. It's ok, but I wouldn't make a special trip to it. On the North end/fork of the lake people hang out about 5 minutes past Wolf River Marina/Dock at a place most people call "the cliffs". It's a spot to jump off the rocks from about 20 or 30 feet up. Usually the weekends there are a good colletion of people there. Enough for a "party", but not very crowded.

Outside of that, just enjoy the water. Sun-up on the weekdays is the best. Other than an occasional fisherman, the lake is litterly yours.

[kent]

Good post.. and good info for that matter. We have a crew going to dale next week too. We will out of eagle cove. I heard good things about this lake, this will be a first time for me. Im pretty pumped!

[wienrdog]

My info is dated somewhat as it's been a few years since I spent a lot of time on the lake.

Overall Sunset is one of the nicest marinas on the lake. Out of Eagle, people often moor down Fanny's creek or in one of the nooks in the main part of the lake.

Wisdom is likely the second nicest. Keep in mind that the KY side of the lake is in dry counties, so if you want to get a beer refill, you will need to find a marina in TN.

Each of the marinas has their own character. We've rented houseboats from Wolfe Creek & Hendricks & stayed at both Obey River campsites (near Sunset) & the State park (In Ky just up the Wolfe river from the main junction). We'd often hit Sulphur Creek & Willow Grove marinas for a quick stop.

We will likely stay in the upper arms of the lake this time. Not sure how far we'll venture from the state park area. (Eagle Cove, Fanny's creek, Wisdom dock). We may venture back up by Wolfe and down to Sunset if the group we're going with wants to cruise/eat on the lake.

I've heard that Star Point has good ice cream too.

[Soon2BV]

Here is some more info for you. DHL is my favorite lake and we go there 4 - 5 times a summer, for about the last 15 years.

Sunset is a great marina and restaurant. But is is also pricey. I don't think it is the same overall quality as it was 5 years ago.

Go south on the Obey from Sunset. There are some great places to ski or just relax. Use your depth gage and watch for floaters. All they way at the end is East Port. It is much improved over the last 5 years.

North / West from Sunset is Eagle Creek. Nice and long creek. If you are a skier, go back as far as you can and start there. It is about a mile until you have skied back to the main part of the lake. It is a great ski run.

Up around Wolf River are the cliffs for jumping. This is also a big parking area and lots of swimmers.

In my opinion, Wisdom is now the best restaurant on the lake. Bigger portions and better prices than Sunset. Great salad bar.

Down your wya, there is also a newly refurbished marina named Mitchell Creek. It used to be Livingston Boat Dock. New restaurant and marina - looks like a paddle wheel boat. Very cool. We were there right after they opened, and the food was good but they did not have enough servers (they said they were overshelmed by the people coming in and it was way more than they expected.

Every marina has its own feel, and the lake is a little different all over.

Someone above mentioned the slalom courses. There are two, although I have only ever seen the one on Fanny Creek.

Another cool plaec to go is the State Park marina - and if the shuttle is running the restaurant there is great. The dining room overlooks the lake, towards Trooper Island. But, it is a few miles up the road from the marina, so not something for a walk.

I would recommend that you purchase a good, waterproof lake map. Most of the marinas have them. Most of them list the major marina and the marina phone numbers. You will make good use of a good map.

And, one last bit of information. ATT has virtually no service arond the lake. Verizon has great coverage.

Enjoy your week - it is an awesome place!

Also, most of the major creeks are marked with signs on the major part of the lake. From what I remember, it is about 50 miles from the dam to Sunset.

[Mal Gal]

Just got home from two GREAT weeks at Dale Hollow Lake! Stopped in Elizabethtown Kentucky on Saturday for the MC Pro Wakeboard Tournament--What a Show! Ditto to all the other info. We stay at Obey River Campground/Sunset Marina. They are both great places. The best water we have found is past Sunset Dock and close to and past East Port Marina. Most of the time the water is close to glass! We are headed back to DHL in 8 days for another great week. Beware, we have not seen very many Malibu's on the lake--seems to be a "Nautique" convention.

Have fun! Both ends of the lake are Great!