The Trace (Land Between the Lakes)

Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway
The Trace
FD-100
Route information
Length: 43.1 mi[1] (69.4 km)
Major junctions
South end: SR 461 at the south entrance northwest of Dover, TN[2][3][4]
  US 68 / KY 80 near the Golden Pond Visitor Center
North end: KY 453 at the north entrance near Grand Rivers, KY[5][6]
Location
Counties: Stewart (TN), Lyon (KY), Trigg (KY)

The Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway, also known as "The Trace," is the major north-south roadway that traverses the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in two counties in western Kentucky and northwestern Stewart County in northwest Middle Tennessee.[7] It is estimated to be 43.1 miles (69.36 km) in length. The road is part of the National Scenic Byway system.[8] Although it is not signed, it is listed on LBL's road logs as FD-100.[9]

Description

The road is called "The Trace", which is what many roads and paths were called in pioneer times. "Trace" is short for "Buffalo Trace" that many winding roads have been called since they seem to follow the winding path of buffalo or bison. The Trace begins as Tennessee State Route 461 at the intersection with US Route 79 (unsigned as TN 76) on the west side of Dover, Tennessee in Stewart County. TN State Rte 461 ends at the southern boundary of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, but continues solely as the Trace. The recreation area is situated on an inland peninsula between Kentucky Lake (the Tennessee River) and Lake Barkley (the Cumberland River.[10] It passes the remains of an old furnace as well as the 1850s Homeplace living history farm before the road makes its entry into Kentucky.

It enters Trigg County, Kentucky shortly after passing the Homeplace. It passes through more wooded areas and has two intersections with back-country roads, including one of which will lead to the Wrangler's Campground, the LBL's premier destination for horseback riding and camping. After passing the Golden Pond Visitor's Center, the Trace has an intersection with the co-signed US Route 68 and Kentucky Route 80. US 68 was formerly accessed from the trace via an access road near the visitor’s center. A diamond interchange was built when US 68/KY 80 was widened in the early 2010s.[11]

The Trace goes further north and passes the Elk and Bison Prairie, and other roads that link the Trace to more recreational areas, campgrounds, and one that leads to the Woodlands Nature Station after crossing into the Lyon County section of the recreation area.[12] The Trace reaches its northern end at the Between the Rivers Memorial Bridge on the LBL's northern boundary just short of the Lyon-Livingston County line.

The rest of the road beyond the bridge is signed as Kentucky Route 453 from there, through Grand Rivers, all the way to Smithland, Kentucky. Access to US 641/62 and Interstate 24 (Exit 31) is available just north of Grand Rivers well into Livingston County.

History

Before the Land Between the Lakes NRA was established, the Kentucky segment of the Trace was designated as Kentucky Route 453, and the Tennessee segment was Tennessee State Route 49.[13][14] They were both decommissioned from the Trace after the LBL was acquired by the USDA's Forest Service from the Tennessee Valley Authority, the previous owner of the recreation area. The recreation area itself, however, was established in 1963 after the TVA built the Kentucky Dam and the US Army Corps of Engineers impounded the Cumberland River to build the other dam that created Lake Barkley. The state road designations remained until the forest service's acquisition of the park.[15][16] [17]

Major intersections

Here are all the major intersections the Trace has from Dover to the Lyon/Livingston County line

StateCountyLocationmi[18]kmDestinationsNotes
TennesseeStewartDover0.00.0 US 79 – Paris, Dover, Clarksville, Fort Donelson National BattlefieldSouthern terminus; southern end of TN 461 overlap
Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area3.04.8Southern entrance of Land Between The Lakes / SR 461 south / The TraceSouthern terminus; southern end of TN 461 overlap
FD-300Accesses Piney Campground
The Homeplace
0.000
0.000		Tennessee–Kentucky state line near the Cedar Pond Picnic Area
KentuckyTriggLand Between the Lakes National Recreation AreaFD-172 west / FD-165 northFD-165 accesses the Wranglers Campground
[[Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (Golden Pond), Kentucky|Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (Golden Pond)]]FD-165 southAccess Wranglers Campground
Golden Pond Visitor’s Center
Golden Pond Observatory and Planetarium
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area US 68 / KY 80 – Aurora, Murray, Cadiz, HopkinsvilleInterchange-style junction
Elk and Bison Prairie
LyonLand Between the Lakes National Recreation AreaFD-135 eastAccesses Woodlands Nature Station and Nature Watch Area
FD-133 eastAccesses Woodlands Nature Station and Nature Watch Area
FD-110 westAccesses Hillman Ferry Campground
Grand Rivers43.169.4 KY 453 north to I-24 – Grand Rivers, SmithlandEnd of the Trace; continues as KY-453.
Between the Rivers Bridge just short of the Livingston County line.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi


For continuation of the road Grand Rivers and beyond, see the article on Kentucky Route 453.

Attractions along The Trace

Note: Some of these attractions are accessed by a variety of local back roads off the Trace.[9][20]

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.