The annual Progressive Louisville Boat, RV & Sportshow kicks off each year at the Kentucky Exposition Center around the end of January, but you don’t have to wait until then to get into the boating spirit or enjoy the best boating lakes in Kentucky. They’re open all year round, with plenty of fun to offer boaters of all kinds.

If you own a boat (or have access long-term boat rentals), consider planning a mini-vacation on-demand or an extended weekend aboard, which can include the best of safe social distancing. It may be slightly different and it may take a bit more planning, but a boating break may be just what you need right now. Review the following, make a plan and then have a great weekend getaway on the water.

Whether you're headed to the lake for a long weekend of boating fun, or you're launching your boat for an offshore fishing adventure—whatever the case may be, it can be hard when Mother Nature is uncooperative. Picture this: You wake up in the morning ready to run to your boat after a tough week of work, only to find the weather has changed. The sunny skies the weatherman promised a few days ago are replaced with gloomy clouds. So much for a perfect boating day, right? Well, actually, all is not necessarily lost.