Partnering agencies will participate in a formal launch of the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) Regional Water Trail at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 6. The public event will be held inside LBL at Brandon Spring Group Camp, 336 Brandon Spring Rd. in Dover.
“Everyone is welcome to join us as we kick off the trail,” said Jeff Laird, customer service manager at LBL. “There will be local vendors, free guided kayak and canoe trips, and information about the amazing accessibility of water-based recreation in the region.”
The LBL Regional Water Trail initiative is a collaborative effort to develop and promote the water resources around the LBL region to create economic, health, and social benefits for the region and its citizens. A National Water Trail designation is being sought.
The water trail project received assistance from the National Park Service’s Trails and Rivers Conservation Assistance Program. TRCA administrators from Tennessee and Kentucky worked with a team of federal, state, and local agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Friends of LBL, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kentucky and Tennessee State Parks, TVA, and state and local tourism offices.
The entire project will be completed in phases. Phase One includes the 300-mile shoreline of LBL. Phases Two and Three will encompass approximately 186 miles of Kentucky Lake/Tennessee River and 118 miles of Lake Barkley/Cumberland River.
A map and descriptions of water trail access points is available at www.landbetweenthelakes.us/watertrails. For more information about the new water trail or other LBL programs, visit the LBL website.
