Smith Bay Road - FS 116

Total Miles
1.3

Elevation

138.15 ft

Duration

0.25 Hours

Technical Rating

1

Easy

Best Time

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Trail Overview

Smith Bay Road - FS 116, is a gravel forest service road through the center-west Kentucky section, Kentucky Lake side, of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The road geographically features a valley-to-valley layout, going over one small ridge separating the paved Old Ferry Road West FS 114 valley from the valley in which Smith Bay rests. Smith Bay is one of the most popular Kentucky Lake bays pulling boats from the northern dams to as far south as the Tennessee line, so if desiring to see some boats (more so in summer) on the water this might be the road to use. The road ultimately leads to the Smith Bay Campsite, right along the bay's edge, featuring a vaulted toilet, dumpster, picnic tables, charcoal grills, and established camp plots. The road provides access to the point-to-point trail Watkins Road FS 306 and the dead-end road Collie Cemetery Road FS 307. A great place of tranquility and popularity depending on the time of year.

Photos of Smith Bay Road - FS 116

Smith Bay Road - FS 116
Smith Bay Road - FS 116

Difficulty

Smith Bay Road is a simple gravel road. Generally well maintained, it is given a base rating of 1/10, consisting of a very mild grade up and down one hill. Expect washboards, potholes, mounding of the gravel, spots where the gravel fades to dirt, and mild signs of erosion on the hill. At the time of writing this 10-2024, the culvert on the south bottom side of the hill had collapsed, creating a foot-18" perpendicular rut, approach it with caution, though it is bypassable as one side of the culvert had not completely collapsed and still had a level road surface.

Technical Rating

1

Status Reports

There are no status reports yet for this trail.

Access Description

Navigate to the Woodland Trace National Scenic Byway which is the main thoroughfare north to south within Land Between the Lakes, head to 36.94529, -88.1202 to access the east entry of the Old Ferry Road West FS 114, follow it west for 2.8 miles to 36.92218, -88.15512, then head south to get on the Smith Bay Road FS 116.

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