in southern
Kentucky 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.
Stewart County, Tennessee The Trace begins as
Tennessee State Route 461 (SR 461, locally known as The Trace Road) at the intersection with
US 79 (
running concurrently with a hidden designation of
SR 76) on the western outskirts of
Dover in
Stewart County, Tennessee. SR 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). It passes through the sites of the defunct towns of Tharpe and
Model, the latter of which is home to the remnants of an old furnace, as well as the 1850s Homeplace living history farm before the road makes its entry into
Kentucky at the state line.
Between the state line and U.S. 68 It enters
Trigg County shortly after passing the Homeplace. It passes through more wooded areas and has two intersections with back-country roads, including one of which leads to the Wrangler's Campground, the premier destination for horseback riding and camping within the recreation area. After passing the
Golden Pond Visitor Center and Planetarium, the Trace has a freeway-style
diamond interchange junction with the co-signed four-lane
U.S. Route 68 and
Kentucky Route 80. US 68/KY 80 was formerly accessed from The Trace via an access road near the visitor center and planetarium. The diamond interchange was built when US 68/KY 80 was widened within LBL in the early 2010s as part of the widening project of the route in Trigg County.
North of U.S. 68 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. 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 (KY 453) from the northern end of the bridge, through
Grand Rivers, all the way to
Smithland, Kentucky. Access to
US 62/
641 and
Interstate 24 (I-24) at Exit 31 is available just north of Grand Rivers well into Livingston County. ==History==