Kentucky Route 453

KY 453 in Smithland

KY 453 starts in Smithland in Livingston County at an intersection with U.S. Route 60 (US 60). It goes on a southeasterly path out of town, and has an intersection with Interstate 24 (I-24)/Interstate 69 (I-69), and then US 62 and US 641 in the Lake City–Grand Rivers vicinity, the village between the two lakes, Lake Barkley (Cumberland River) to the east, and Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) to the west. The highway ends at the bridge over the canal connecting the lakes just south of the county line into Lyon County, for the road continuing south of that bridge enters the U.S. Forest Service-owned Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, and becomes "The Trace".

The highway between Smithland and the area just west of Iuka was originally a part of KY 50 from 1929 until sometime in the mid 1930s, US 62 until the mid-1950s, and KY 93 until sometime before 1970, while the rest of the route to the present-day US 62/641 alignment was signed as KY 482.[2] KY 453 was extended to its pre-2000 length in 1967.[3][4]

KY 453 was extended south to the US 68 corridor just west of Golden Pond sometime around 1956. KY 453 would later be extended south of US 68 to the Tennessee state line between 1957 and 1960, replacing the original KY 289 designation in that area.[2][5]

Before the Land Between The Lakes Recreation Area was in the hands of the USDA, the Tennessee Valley Authority owned the recreation area, and KY 453 continued southward through the area to the Tennessee state line.