When your vacation time comes around, you’ll want to find the perfect place to relax. Stay at a log cabin or cottage beside the waterfront at a Lake Barkley vacation rental. Whether you’re traveling with your family or a group of friends, there are certain amenities you may want to make your stay a success. Here are some of the best areas around Lake Barkley to start your search.

1. Blue Water Estates Area

Located on the northeast side of Lake Barkley, Blue Water Estates offers many lakefront homes as vacation rentals. Many of these rentals offer docks for easy access to the water if you bring your own boat. If you didn’t bring a boat with you, this area is almost close enough to walk to Lake Barkley Marina and rent one.

2. Blue Spring, Kentucky

On the east side of Lake Barkley, Blue Spring offers log cabins that sit on the water’s edge or along the lake inlet. Other rentals include homes with a lake view and cottages. Gather the family for some easy hiking along the 1.5-mile Blue Springs Trail that leads to Little River Annex, a great place for wildlife watching.

3. Linton, Kentucky

On the southeastern part of Lake Barkley, Linton offers your family or groups some comfortable lakefront homes, cabins, or cottages for your trip. The Linton Recreational offers a free boat ramp, swimming at the sandy beach area, a playground for the kids, and grills for a picnic dinner at one of the picnic spots in the area.

4. Bumpus Mills, Tennessee

Choose a slower pace with a vacation home rental with a lake view in Bumpus Mills on the southern end of Lake Barkley. Gather everyone in the car and visit the Land Between The Lakes National Recreational Area that separates the two lakes in the area to enjoy some bird and wildlife watching.

5. Dover, Tennessee

Dover sits on the southern end of Lake Barkley and along the river that feeds it. The area offers vacation rentals that are waterside and luxury homes with all the amenities. Take the kids to learn a little more about American history at nearby Fort Donelson National Battlefield, where the Union soldiers won their first important battle of the Civil War.

6. Rockcastle, Kentucky

Located in the northern part of the lake, Rockcastle has lakeside rentals, from log cabins to smaller cottages or homes with a lake view. When your family needs a break from the water, hop in the car to visit the nearby Great Saltpetre Preserve. Once there, your family can explore this limestone cave that was mined for salt years ago.

7. Wildwood Hills Area

On the northern side of the lake, Wildwood Hills area offers lakeside rental homes and access to one of the small inlets. If you have golf lovers in your group, you can spend a day on the greens at Mineral Mounds State Park Golf Course with its 18 holes.

8. Eden Bay Area

Eden Bay area sits on the north side of the bay and offers waterfront properties on Lake Barkley and one of its inlets or smaller homes with a lake view for smaller groups. From here, spend a day in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area and check out the daily planetarium show.

9. Eddyville, Kentucky

Rent a vacation home, condo, or a romantic bed and breakfast room in Eddyville. Located a few minutes away from the lake, Miss Neda’s Donut Shop makes a great place to stop for breakfast on the way to the lake or spend a day at the Venture River Water Park with its wave pool and several slides for people of various ages and skill levels.

10. Cadiz, Kentucky

Just a few minutes drive to Lake Barkley, Cadiz offers a more urban feel for your lake vacation along with rental homes, condos, small motels, and a bed and breakfast for couples. On a rainy day, visit the nearby National Quilt Museum to learn more about the tradition of quilts and quilt making.