About Us

Lakeview Estates Lake Association (LELA) is a non-stock, nonprofit corporation which owns and maintains Lake Fontaine and Lake Hickman in Lexington, KY near the intersection of Richmond Rd. and New Circle Rd. Owners of property on the lakes are members of the organization. A Board of Directors, consisting of 15 members of the organization oversees the maintenance and operation of the lakes and associated dam.

These lakes are the largest bodies of water located within New Circle Rd. Summer days bring life to the surface of the lakes with canoes, kayaks, sailboats, rowing shells, stand-up paddle boards, and electrically operated pontoon boats. Year-round aquatic life is especially engaging, such as osprey, Canadian geese, turtles and the plethora of fish beneath the surface. These attributes make the properties surrounding the lakes the most attractive and sought-after locations in all of the Bluegrass Area.

All water craft must be powered without fossil fuel. This not only protects the serenity of the lakes but also eliminates any pollution that fossil fuel engines emit. LELA is protective and proactive in keeping these private waters as pristine and safe as possible.

Featured Photo

“Somebody didn’t get the memo about staying off the floating sewer line!”

Photo taken by Dr. James Morehead, DVM on October 2025. 

New Lake Names

The LELA lakes now have new names! Reservoir #2 is now Lake Fontaine and Reservoir #3 is now Lake Hickman. Lake Fontaine derives its name from the nearby road Fontaine Road. The name Lake Hickman comes from the creek that was dammed to create the lake. These names have been approved by the US Board on Geographic Names.

 

Lake Fontaine can be found in the database here.

Lake Hickman can be found in the database here.

 

A press release dated 20 August, 2015 can be found here.

History

The lakes were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s in order to provide water to the city of Lexington. The lakes were sold to private developers in 1964 when they were no longer needed for the water supply.

As each lake was dug, an earthen dam was created for it. The dam along Alumni Drive was reconstructed in 1978 when homes were approved for construction behind it. The current dam consists of a concrete weir and an adjacent earthen dam. Water flowing over the dam flows into the West Hickman Creek.

The following booklet is provided courtesy of Kentucky-American Water Company.

The Kentucky-American Water Company 1885-1985 booklet in PDF format:

Pages 1-12 

Pages 13-24 

Pages 25-36