I live in Louisville and bought a place at Barren about 5 years ago. Extra 1/2 hour drivew at most past Nolin but I guarantee you on a busy weekend, which is most you can get away from boat traffic and fish at Barren where you can't at Nolin. With that said Barren is a bigger lake and waterfront property is a little more expensive at Barren but it's worth it in my opinion. Lake wise you have good population of largemouth,smallmouth, KY's, and Nolin doesn't hold a candle to Barren on quantity and size of Hybrids. Just my 2 cents. What I have found by being down there a lot now is that by the time anything good was to hit the paper its allready sold. Word of mouth sells most down there. Also waterfront does not mean you are guaranteed a dock. Check with core first and foremost if you become interested in something down there.