| State: | KY |
| Type: | KY |
| Route: | 218 |
| Maint: | KYTC |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | KY 218 highlighted in red |
| Length Mi: | 31.113 |
| Length Round: | 3 |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | Flint Ridge Road / Mammoth Cave Park Road at Davis Williams Road in Northtown |
| Junction: | near Horse Cave in Horse Cave at Wigwam near LeGrande near Shady Grove (Metcalfe County) |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | near Exie |
| Counties: | Hart, Metcalfe, Green |
| Previous Type: | KY |
| Previous Route: | 217 |
| Next Type: | KY |
| Next Route: | 219 |
Kentucky Route 218 (KY 218) is a 31.113-mile-long (50.072 km) west-east state highway that traverses three counties in south-central Kentucky. It is locally known as LeGrande Highway from Horse Cave to near Shady Grove.
Kentucky Route 218 begins at the unincorporated Hart County community of Northtown west of Interstate 65 (I-65). It is the beginning of state maintenance as the main road west of Northtown is actually a locally maintained road (Flint Ridge Road) that leads to the Mammoth Cave National Park, and would provide a direct route to the park's visitor center in Edmonson County.[2] The official road maps issued by the KYTC do not show this section of KY 218 as its western terminus is intersecting locally maintained roads, which are not shown on any highway maps outside of city insets.
It crosses I-65 at its Exit 58 interchange, and enters the town of Horse Cave, which is part of a tourism hotbed in southern Kentucky due to its proximity to the national park. After running concurrently with Kentucky Route 335 for a couple of miles, it crosses U.S. Route 31W (Dixie Highway). About east of downtown Horse Cave, it crosses U.S. Route 31E (Jackson Highway), and then continues eastward to LeGrande, and enters the northernmost section of Metcalfe County a moment after the KY 677 junction.[3]
KY 218 goes through a small sliver of the northernmost portion of Metcalfe County, and it intersects KY 314 while doing so. It enters Green County, crosses the Little Barren River, and reaches its end at Exie, where it meets the intersection with US 68 during that route's concurrency with Kentucky Route 70 from Sulphur Well all the way to Greensburg and Campbellsville.[4]
KY 218 between US 31W and US 31E was formerly a portion of US 68 until that U.S. Highway was rerouted to its current alignment in the 1940s.[5]
| State: | KY |
| Flint Ridge Road | |
| Location: | Mammoth Cave Visitors Center to Horse Cave |
Flint Ridge Road is an east–west local road that connects the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor's Center directly to Horse Cave. It traverses eastern segments of Mammoth Cave National Park, which is in eastern Edmonson County, along with southwestern Hart County. It begins at an intersection with the Mammoth Cave Parkway near the park's Visitor's Center and ends at the I-65 exit 58 interchange with KY 218. The final of the road is actually part of KY 218.[6] [2]
Points of interest along Flint Ridge Road include the Mammoth Cave Baptist Church and Cemetery, and the Dennison Ferry Day-use area.[7]
Flint Ridge Road between Mammoth Cave Parkway and Park Ridge Road is usually closed to traffic during winter months.