How do you get to Patoka Lake?

[Moose1am]

What Highway do you take to get to Patoka Lake?

I am from the Evansville, IN area so I would take I-164 North to I-64 and then drive East on I-64 to Exit 72 (Birdseye Exit). Then take state hwy 145 North though Birdseye and then though Eckerty on up to State Hwy 164 to the Newton Stewart Launch Ramp or to the Lick Fork Launch Ramp.

I use to drive though Jasper but I found that was slower and had much more traffic and was mostly two lane highways.

The section of 145 from I-64 to the Lake is hilly and full of sharp curves but it has much less traffic on it and it's a much shorter road.

Going up 231 though Huntingburgh and Jasper and then taking 164 East out of Jasper though Celestine was a much longer route and it took me a lot longer. There was always traffic on the Celestine road and it's a longer road to travel IMHO.

So how do you get to the lake from the Evansville, IN area?

[RVogler]

I'm sorry, Moose, but the Celestine Hwy is the way for me. Alot of curves and some slow drunks, but that's my best route.

[Stevens]

Same for me, there may be a faster way but its a habit to go that way because ive fished huntingburgh and beaver lake so much

[raporter]

Moose don't you think 145 to birdeye is one of the prettier roads in Indiana? OH yeh, I have to go 164 to get anywhere.

[fishNnut]

I go up through Jasper and Celestine also.

[Moose1am]

The road State Hwy 145 North of I-64 to Birdeye is a very pretty road. It follows this small river. The River is smaller than the Pigeon Creek that runs though the middle of Evansville, IN but much more beautiful.

There are sever really tight turns that you have to watch out for and only one really big hill. The hill coming into Birdseye, IN from the South.

I use to drive up though Huntingbird, Jasper and though Celistine but it seemed to take longer to get to the lake and to start fishing. It may be longer going to Exit 72 on I-64 but guys it's much faster. I can drive on I-64 at 70 to 75 mph and have semi trucks passing me. There are no slow pokes blocking my way to the lake on a narrow road.

I should get my Garmin Mapsource digital map fired up on my computer and check out the mileage.

I would think that it's a little shorter route going though Huntingburgh, Jasper and Celistine but that's a lot of miles on a two lane road.

Going up to Exit 72 cuts the number of miles on a two lane road down considerably.

I know that many of us don't like change. I had always gone up to the lake though Huntingburgh, Jasper and Celistine in the past. I'll be I went that way from 1978 to 2003. That's 25 years of going the Jasper route.

I also use to go out of Newburgh up 261 to Boonville and up 161 North out of Boonville to I-64. But going on those two lane highways slowed me down a LOT. It's only about 10 miles on 261 to Boonville from Newburgh but that road can be very busy even on a weekday. And 161 North out of Boonville, IN to I-64 is another 10 miles to the I-64 Lynville Exit.

I found that I can go faster by going East towards Evansville on the New Hwy 62 and and then taking the new West Bound section of and then going up North on the I-164 Bypass to I-64. Again it's a bit longer route but I can go 70 mph all the way once I get on the new highways.

If I am traveling I like to stick to major Freeways that are four to six lanes wide.

I get around 20 mpg in my truck towing my bass boat so in the past when gas was selling for under $1.00/gallon I could afford to go faster and a little further.

You save money by maintaining a constant speed and not having to stop and start over and over again.

I don't have but one stop light on State Hwy 62 heading from Chandler into Evansville. And that's at Lynch Road/Hwy 62. I can turn right on red at that Stop light so it's no bother really. There is one more stoplight at Lynch Road Bypass and Old Boonville Highway and after that it's all Interstate to Exit 72 at State Road 145 exit.

Look how far you have to go on a two lane road from I-64 exit 72 to the lake. Then compare that to how far on a two lane road you have to drive up though Huntingburg, Jasper and Celistine.

I use to drive up to Indy on US 41 to I-70 and go though Terra Haute. But then I started going East on I-64 to I-65. I could get to Indy much faster by staying on the Interstates all the way instead of going up 41. Highway 41 was a mess and I avoided it for the most part.

I had to drive up to Indy every week to work one summer and soon found it much faster to drive over I-64 to New Albany and then up I-65 out of New Albany to Indy. I know that I had to drive farther but it was a company car and they paid for the gas too. So speed and time was my only consideration. If I could cut 30 minutes of the drive that was good.

When I drive up to Patoka Lake I want to get my money's worth. I don't want to speed anymore time on the road that I have too. So going fast and getting there 15 to 20 minutes faster is my goal.

Now if I were going for more than one day and was going to stay up at the lake that might make a difference to me. And sometimes just for a change I may go up to the lake though Celistine again. Just for old times sake.

There is another Exit on I-64 that's between the Huntingburgh Exit and the Birdseye Exit. I took that exit one time and it was ok. I think it took me to highway 164 but I can't remember unless I check my map.

Do any of you all have the Garmin Mapsource "MetroGuide North America" CD. That program will allow you to calculate the best route between point A and point B. I could use it to figure the best way up to the lake from my house by telling the program to stick to freeways. I can set the program up to use highway speeds to figure the fastest or shortest route to the lake. I tell my program to stick to Freeways and set the desired speed to over 65 mph. That forces the program to look for freeways like I-64 and I-164. The only problem with this is that the map's digital data is old and may not have the new Lynch Road extention on the map and it may not even have the new I-164 in the data base. You know how slow the US governement can be. I found out that my own road is not on the map data. The old saying "garbage in equals garbage out" is true. The digital maps are only as good as the data base. That's why I don't use that map for routing much. But I have it loaded onto my Garmine eTrex GPS and can use the mapping feature on the GPS to see where I am at all times. It's not as good as the newer GPS units that can be updated by satellite but it helps in remote places. So far I have only found a few mistakes in the data base. My road and the missing I-164 road and the Lynch road. All the other roads in Warrick County seem to be ok. Even the older roads out North of Chandler where they are mining coal are accurate.

Moose don't you think 145 to birdeye is one of the prettier roads in Indiana? OH yeh, I have to go 164 to get anywhere.

[topwater2007]

You should wrap around Louisville, KY on the Waterson. Build speed until the northeast side to use centrifigal force to blast into the Patoka area.

This is a technique I learned working for NASA on the Apollo Project.

topwater

[Moose1am]

I could swing by my Aunt's old home if I went on the Waterson.

[GeoFisher]

I take the NEW 37 North........I-64 to 37 North........a STRAIGHT shot to 145. Takes me about 1 hour from New Albany........From my Garage to the Ramp.

Later,

Geo

[HURRICANEBOB]

I take my truck, cause its to far to walk, and my moped won't pull the boat.

[GotHooked?]

I live in the Corydon area. I would advise you to take I-64 East to exit 79 (Tell City). Make a left off the exit and you will be 11 miles from Patoka. They added onto the road so it's very easy to get there. You make two turns but they are clearly marked. My brother and I are going up there tonight. He just mounted his new Hummingbird Sidefinder so we are going to check it out.

[Moose1am]

Ahhhhhh, I am so jealous of you guys now. Which Humminbird Side Scanning unit did he get? The 797, 997 or the new and larger 1197.

Man I wish I had an extra 3 grand laying around. Perhaps I can sell my left kidney.......

Have fun guys and post a report with brush pile waypoint locations.

You guys keep that stuff up and you will know the lake better than anyone, unless they too have a Humminbird side scanning unit and are studying the lake.

Tim Gibson won't be able to hide his secrete brush piles anymore.

I live in the Corydon area. I would advise you to take I-64 East to exit 79 (Tell City). Make a left off the exit and you will be 11 miles from Patoka. They added onto the road so it's very easy to get there. You make two turns but they are clearly marked. My brother and I are going up there tonight. He just mounted his new Hummingbird Sidefinder so we are going to check it out.