The lake is a project of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Senator Robert C. Byrd developed a legislation that meant the State would not have to pay the Corps the $28 million debt if improvements to the State Park exceeded $28 million.

The state chose to venture with the private firm, McCabe-Henley Properties of Charleston.

McCabe-Henley, through a bond-issuing agency, sold $44 million in bonds to private markets and investors.

[3][4] The resort is located in Lewis County, West Virginia, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Weston and about three miles (5 km) off the Roanoke Exit (Exit 91) of Interstate 79.