The Trace

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. It is estimated to be in length. The road is part of the National Scenic Byway system. Although it is not signed, it is listed on LBL's road logs as FD-100. 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. Stewart County, Tennessee The Trace begins as Tennessee State Route 461 (SR 461, locally known as The Trave 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 the remains 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 will lead to the Wrangler's Campground, the premier destination for horseback riding and camping within the recreation area. After passing the Golden Pond Visitor's Center, 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's 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.