County Road 491 is Lecanto Highway, a bi-county south to north road that begins at the Hernando-Citrus County Line in
Oak Grove near the
Withlacoochee State Forest, and ends at
SR 200 in Stoke's Ferry, just south of the intersection with the northern segment of CR 39. It was formerly designated as
SR 491.
Route description CR 491 continues from the Hernando-Citrus County Line where the name changes from
Citrus Way to Lecanto Highway. The first intersection is a local dirt road named Honeybee Lane, which is dwarfed by the later intersection with
County Road 480 (West Stage Coach Road). Immediately a sign can be seen indicating the route's entry to Oak Grove, which is flanked mostly by farm and ranch land on the west side with the occasional private road intersection, and random houses in the woods that give way to land owned by the
Withlacoochee State Forest on the east side. Throughout this area, the road climbs a series of hills. One brief opening of ranch land on the east side appears suddenly followed by a WSF trailhead, which is found on the west side of the road for a change. The route leaves Oak Grove just north of that trailhead. After the eastern terminus of Cardinal Lane the road makes a reverse curve to the right and passes a dirt road named for the nearby ghost town of
Mannsfield, which is located somewhere in the forest. Right after West Noble Street, the route makes a sharp turn to the northwest at Trail 17. State forest territory exists on both sides of the road at this point, and has since the intersection with Noble Street. The road leaves the forest at a firehouse on the south side, as it enters
the community it was named for, then starts to curve as it passes the entrance to the Lesiure Acres Community, and then a dirt road named Halo Hills Road, before finally runs back north and widens to a four-lane undivided highway just before approaching the eastern terminus of Grover Cleveland Boulevard. From there the road passes the Citrus Campus of the
Central Florida Community College, and a local business before a signalized intersection with the Crystal River Quarries, and the Lecanto Educational Complex, which includes
Lecanto High School. The road also passes various government offices, before intersecting with
SR 44. After SR 44, CR 491 descends into a valley, especially as it approached the road to the Lecanto Post Office. Just as it approaches a series of medical offices, the road curves to the northwest and then at the County Department of Mosquito Control office, curves to the northeast, where it will stay through much of the county. The road widens once again and this time turns into a divided highway before it approaches
CR 486, also known as West Norvelle Bryant Highway. North of CR 486, Lecanto Highway passes by a
Veterans Administration center that was once part of the notorious Brown School The road intersects the gateway to
Black Diamond, and later passes along the northwestern edge of
Beverly Hills. The first major intersection in this community is at West Roosevelt Boulevard and North Modelwood Drive, the former of which is the first gateway through Beverly Hills. The road remains a four-lane divided highway even as it approaches
Pine Ridge at West Pine Ridge Boulevard. The divided highway ends as the road begins to narrow, but not before intersecting the northern terminus of a second Beverly Hill gateway known as Forest Ridge Boulevard. After this, CR 491 finally enters Pine Ridge itself. Throughout the community, the route remains two lanes wide with occasional provisions for left turn lanes, and has a noticeable right-of-way for a potential widening. The road curves slightly to the east before it approaches the south end of North Lecanto Highway, a gateway road to
Citrus Springs, then approaches the Sandy Oaks RV Resort near the power line ROW leading from the former
Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant, and after this the gateway to Central Ridge District Park, before the road turns straight east and enters
Holder, where it passes the
Withlacoochee State Trail trailheads two blocks before intersecting
US 41, which up until the Autumn of 2010 was a blinker-light intersection that was replaced as a normal signalized intersection. East of US 41, Lecanto Highway passes a series of dead end streets, including the entrance to the Quail Run community, and a ranch on the south side before approaching another trailhead within the Two-Mile Prairie Tract of the
Withlacoochee State Forest at a former
Seaboard Air Line Railroad line. The road takes a slight curve before approaching the same power lines it crossed west of Holder, and returns to the northeast once again. Between a dirt road named North Clark Point, and a private road named Twelve Oaks Place which leads to a private airport community, the road runs along a raised embankment over a dry lakebed. Citrus County Road 491 finally ends at
SR 200 in Stoke's Ferry just south of the eastern terminus of the northern segment of
Citrus County Road 39. ==County Road 494==