Woodlands Trace
Woodlands Trace is a National Scenic Byway in Tennessee. Within Tennessee it covers roughly 18 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Woodlands Trace with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Woodlands Trace, known locally as 'The Trace,' runs about 43 miles through the Land Between the Lakes, from Dover, Tennessee, north into western Kentucky. It begins as Tennessee State Route 461 at US 79 outside Dover, follows a ridge between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, and crosses into Kentucky at the Between the Rivers Memorial Bridge, continuing as Kentucky Route 453 toward Grand Rivers and Smithland. 'Trace' is pioneer-era shorthand for 'Buffalo Trace,' the name given to winding roads that followed old bison paths, and this particular route was completed between 1957 and 1961. Everything changed in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy directed the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop the peninsula between the two lakes as a national demonstration recreation area, folding the road into the federally managed Land Between the Lakes. A designated National Scenic Byway today, it's a gentle, rolling drive with frequent pull-offs and interpretive stops rather than a dramatic mountain route.
- Land Between the Lakes
- Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley
- 43 miles
- Dover, Tennessee
- Buffalo Trace origin
- 1963 TVA development
- National Scenic Byway
Plan a drive on Woodlands Trace →
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.
Where to Stay along Woodlands Trace
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Woodlands Trace.
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