Land Between the Lakes

The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) is a federal protected area encompassing a 171,280-acre peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley on the border of western Kentucky and Tennessee. Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 , LBL is administered by the United States Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture.

Historically known as “Between the Rivers” the construction of a canal connecting the two lakes created the peninsula which is now known as LBL. The area features a mix of topographical features, including wetlands, fields, and forests. The highest point is at Golden Pond Mountain at just over 1000 feet, and the lowest is at the shoreline to the lakes at around 360 feet.

The entirety of the park is accessed by the Woodlands Trace Parkway, locally known as “the Trace”, which runs the entire length of the peninsula, from U.S. Route 79 in Dover, TN, to U.S. Route 62 in Grand Rivers, KY.

We took a trip to the Land Between the Lakes in October of 2023 to explore the region. We travelled over 1,500 miles across 20 state and national routes. While not all of the highways we travelled on were captured, those that are offer a glimpse into a region that is great for rural exploration. Some segments of this trip were previously filmed and are not shown in this list.