1148 State Park Road, Lucas, KY | 270-646-2357 | Barren River Lake State Resort Park
Barren River State Dock and Marina was established in 1966 by the State Park. The Rubrights purchased the marina in January 2020 and have since been committed to maintaining a fun, family-friendly environment.
Tell our team what you need and we will follow up with rental availability, slip options, pricing, and next steps.
A native grass prairie restoration project near the dam represents what “The Barrens” looked like to early pioneers. Anglers, boaters, and campers are only the most recent people to enjoy the beauty and natural resources of the Barren River region.
As early as 12,000 B.C., Native Americans fished, boated, and lived along the river’s floodplain and terraces. Over centuries, the region shifted through farming communities, pioneer settlement, military land grants, and recreation areas that remain part of the area’s identity.
Rubright Marinas was formed in 2017 when Nate and Jim Rubright acquired Gallatin Marina in Gallatin, Tennessee. The family has since grown to four marina locations throughout Tennessee and Kentucky.
Jim and Nate Rubright acquired Gallatin Marina, creating the foundation for Rubright Marinas.
Jim, Ben, and Nate Rubright acquired Peninsula Marina and Barren River State Dock and Marina.
The Rubrights continue to improve facilities, services, and the public use of waterways across the marina family.
Purchased properties go through repairs, dock improvements, infrastructure updates, and professional culture development.
The team encourages employees and customers to share information so issues can be addressed quickly.
Guests can expect bathrooms, gas pumps, stores, snacks, drinks, apparel, boat supplies, ice, and boat rentals where available.
Ask about rentals, slips, storage, store essentials, fuel, or your next visit to Barren River State Dock.
Tucked inside Barren River Lake State Resort Park, on State Park Road in Lucas, Kentucky, Barren River State Dock is the park’s own marina. The State Park set it up in 1966, and the Rubright family took it over in January 2020. Being inside the park shapes nearly everything about the place: the setting, the guests and the kind of day people come for.
If you are staying in the park, you can walk down from your room or campsite, rent a boat for the day and be back in time for dinner. If you are driving in from Glasgow or Bowling Green, the marina is a simple stop once you are through the park entrance.
Barren River State Park, as most people call it, has a lodge, cottages, a campground and a golf course, along with hiking trails. Stays and tee times are booked through Kentucky State Parks rather than through us. Our part of the visit is the water: boats, slips, fuel and a store.
Guests at the Barren River Lake lodge are a short trip from the dock. If you have booked one of the Barren River Lake cabins, plan your time on the water around the stay. Rental boats are limited and go quickly on summer weekends, so phone early once your dates are fixed.
Barren River Lake camping puts you close to the water as well. Campers can stop at the marina store for ice, drinks and snacks, or take a pontoon or kayak out for a morning.
Some visitors split the day: a round of Barren River State Park golf in the morning and a tritoon in the afternoon. It is an easy way to fit both into one trip.
Lucas KY is a small community in Barren County, close to the park entrance. People have lived along this river for a very long time. Native Americans fished, boated and made their homes on its floodplain thousands of years before European settlers arrived. Farms, pioneer homesteads and military land grants came later, and eventually the lake and the park. Near the dam, a restored native grass prairie shows how the open country known as The Barrens looked to the first settlers.
Rubright Marinas started in 2017 with Gallatin Marina in Tennessee. Jim, Ben and Nate Rubright then added Peninsula Marina and this marina over 2019 and 2020. The family puts safety and customer satisfaction first, and measures both against what it would want for its own children.
Since 2020 the marina has seen repairs, dock work, infrastructure updates and steady investment in staff training. Visitors will find restrooms, fuel pumps, a store with snacks, drinks, clothing, boat supplies and ice, and a rental fleet. If you spot something that could be better, tell the team. They would rather know.
A good day here often starts with breakfast at the lodge or the campsite, a walk down to the dock and a boat waiting with a full tank. Spend the morning cruising and swimming in a quiet cove, come back for lunch, then head out again when the light softens in the evening. Kids tend to remember the tubing; adults tend to remember the quiet. Plan your visit with our boat rentals, or look at slips for your own boat if you plan to come back all summer.
