Paducah, KY to Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, KY

To mark this momentous occasion, we stop and change our burgees. The white one indicated we are in the process of “looping” and the gold burgee means we are officially “looped”!

Once we complete our photo shoot and the high fives, we resume our journey on the Cumberland River. The first impression of the Cumberland River in not a scenic one.

However, as we venture further along the Cumberland River, it becomes quite panoramic with the green forest lined hills engulfing the river below.

The construction of the Barkley Dam, along with the Kentucky Dam, formed the Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area. By stopping the flow of water of the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River, two lakes were formed: Lake Barkley and the Kentucky Lake – with land between them!

Leaving Paducah, loopers have a choice to make. They can either go up the Tennessee River, through the Kentucky Dam and into the Kentucky Lake or they can leave Paducah and head up the Cumberland River, go though the Barkley Lock into Lake Barkley then take the intersecting canal into Kentucky Lake. We chose to take the Cumberland River. Although this route is 33 miles longer, it also has less commercial traffic and hence less potential for lock delays.

As their name suggests, there are turtles everywhere!

We walk to the resort’s restaurant, aptly named Thirsty Turtle, for a quick bite. It is bingo night, and lucky Captain Tom wins the first bingo of the night. He is awarded with outdoor wine glasses!

The resort offers golf cart rentals for $90 a day. We opt to use the loaner car, for $0 a day, to make a trip into the nearest town, Grand Rivers, about a mile away. Given the heat of this July day, and our goal of purchasing groceries, a vehicle is the preferred mode of transportation to and from town.

Grand Rivers is a small town, 1.9 square miles, with a population of 380+ people. It’s location, on the isthmus of land between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, is a haven for boating enthusiasts and outdoor recreationalists. They have a small grocery store along with several boutiques and restaurants.

The largest tourist attraction in Grand Rivers by far is Patty’s Settlement. What started out in 1975 as an ice cream parlor has morphed into quite an establishment. Despite the fire on February 5, 2017 which destroyed a large part of their business leading to its complete demolition, Patty’s has risen from the ashes bigger and better. On November 27, 2019, Patty’s reopened. Today, besides their large restaurant, known for savory pork chops, they now have an inn with 58 rooms, a bed and breakfast, boutiques, moonshine store, mini golf, beautiful gardens and even a chapel for weddings. We, being tourists, naturally venture to Patty’s for lunch. We arrive at 11:30 am and have an 1 1/2 hour wait. Luckily there is plenty to see within the settlement while we wait.

While we opted not to have a large pork chop for lunch, Tom did have a tasty burger and I had a flavorful spinach salad with a hot bacon dressing.

While our initial plan was to leave Prime 11 at Green Turtle Bay, the unavailability of covered slips changed our decision. We will move further south, searching for a protected slip for Prime 11 to take a much deserved respite.

Thanks for sharing our journey by reading these posts!