Live water level

Nolin Lake Level Today

Nolin Lake level right now, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service gauges: elevation, 24-hour change, distance from summer and winter pool, dam release and the NWS pool forecast.

Updated October 28, 2026 Live federal water data

Sunset over Nolin Lake with wooded hills on the far shore, Kentucky
Photo: Ajmorlock / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Nolin Lake level now

Nolin Lake elevation514.22 ft above sea leveldown 0.06 ft in the last 24 hoursAs of Oct 28, 2026, 11:10 AM ET · Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CWMS Data API

0.78 ft below summer pool (515 ft) · 24.22 ft above winter pool (490 ft)

Provisional real-time data from federal agencies; it can change after review. Checked Oct 28, 2026, 12:44 PM ET.

Heads up: we're an independent guide. Some links may earn us a referral fee, which never changes what you pay or what we recommend. Conditions change fast on the water, so confirm closures and levels with the official source. How we make money.

How to read the Nolin Lake level

  • Elevation is the lake surface in feet above sea level (NGVD29 datum), not the depth.
  • Summer pool, 515 ft, is the target for the boating season.
  • Winter pool, 490 ft, is where the Corps holds the lake through winter. That's a 25-foot difference, so coves, beaches and some ramps that work in July can be mud flats in February.
  • Above summer pool means the Corps is storing floodwater. Expect floating debris, flooded ramps and parking lots, and higher releases from the dam.
  • Release (outflow) is how much water the Corps is letting out of the dam, in cubic feet per second. It matters for fishing and paddling the Nolin River below the dam.

Ramps and the level

The Corps keeps the Arnold Van Meter (dam) and Moutardier ramps open all year, while Iberia and Dog Creek are seasonal (April 1 to October 31). Any ramp can close in extreme high or low water. The state park's Brier Creek ramp is listed as year-round. See the Nolin Lake guide for marinas and ramps.

Other lakes

Rough River · Taylorsville · Ohio River at Louisville · All levels

FAQ

What is normal pool for Nolin Lake?
Summer pool is 515 ft above sea level and winter pool is 490 ft, per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps lowers the lake after summer to make room for winter and spring rain, then refills it in spring.
How often is the Nolin Lake level updated?
The Corps gauge reports every few minutes to every hour. This page fetches the newest reading and caches it for up to 30 minutes, and every value shows its own 'as of' time.
Is there a Nolin Lake water temperature today?
We have not found an official, free lake-surface temperature for Nolin. USGS measures water temperature in the Nolin River below the dam, which is not the same as lake surface temperature, so we don't show it as a lake reading.
Where does this data come from?
The elevation comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CWMS Data API (the USGS-fed gauge on the lake, with the Corps' hourly reading as a backup). The forecast comes from the National Weather Service (gauge NOLK2). Real-time data is provisional.

Sources

Checked October 28, 2026. Agencies first; businesses are linked so you can confirm hours and prices with them directly.

  1. Nolin Lake water data (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
  2. CWMS Data API (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
  3. Nolin River at Nolin River Lake (NOLK2) (NOAA National Weather Service)
  4. USGS 03310900 Nolin Lake near Kyrock, KY (U.S. Geological Survey)
  5. Nolin River Lake recreation (ramp seasons) (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

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