MONTICELLO, Ky. (LEX 18) — When you come to Monticello, you have to see the lake. Lake Cumberland has 1,200 miles of shoreline across four counties in southern Kentucky. Four generations of a Monticello family have served countless visitors.
"There are so many coves, and they're all each individually beautiful waterfalls," said Amber Rector, the office manager at Conley Bottom Resort.
Rector is a third-generation employee, raising a daughter to follow in her footsteps.
"This place is everything for me. This is home," she said.
Lake Cumberland was created in 1953 after the US Army Corps of Engineers completed the Wolf Creek Dam. The area used to be farmland.
"We would probably be on what was known as the bottom land. It would have just been a farm. I believe it was the Conley family that had this bottom land," Rector said.
As the lake brought visitors, Conley Bottom Resort was born.
"My grandpa started here when he was 14. He continued to work here through his entire life until he passed away at 87," Rector said. "We just all kind of joined in, and we've all been here our whole life,"
There's a marina shop, restaurant, 1,200 boat slips, and a rental fleet of jet skis, deck boats, pontoons, and houseboats. The largest rentals can house 12 people, with six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen, and quite a party deck up top.
The marina itself has grown significantly over the years, although the newest building is only a few years old. A fire in 2019 burned nearly everything to the ground.
"It took our restaurant, it took our store, it took our main piers," Rector said.
As they rebuilt, they also found ways to improve. The store is bigger, a gym was added for slip customers, and the restaurant was made two floors so people could enjoy this breathtaking view.
"It was devastating for us, but it has been a blessing to be able to rebuild and have something that we're very proud of," Rector said.
As the lake gets more popular, Amber thinks about the next generation of workers here at Conley Bottom, like her 15-year-old daughter, who's already learning the ropes.
"She is already in love with the lake, learning to ski, watersports and all that kind of thing, and working in our kitchen, selling pizza and ice cream," Rector said.
Tourism officials say the lake brings 4 million people to the area every year. Amber is thankful that the place so many people see as paradise is the same place she sees as home.
