Kenlake State Resort Park on the western shore of Kentucky Lake grew from the creation of the lake after Kentucky Dam was completed in 1944 and became Kentucky’s first state resort park when the state acquired Aurora Landing in 1948. Its cottages and hotel quickly made it a major recreation destination within the Land Between the Lakes area. The park also includes the history of former Cherokee State Park, opened in 1951 as Kentucky’s first blacks-only state park under segregation and closed after desegregation in the 1960s. Today Kenlake is known for boating, fishing, trails, and the long-running Hot August Blues Festival.