Kentucky Route 221 (KY 221) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway connects mostly rural areas of Bell,

Harlan Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname *Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive *Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver *Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician *Byron G ...

, Perry, and

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

counties with the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Route description

Bell County

KY 221 begins at an

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

with KY 66 east of Dorton Branch, within Bell. It travels in an easterly direction, paralleling the ironically named Straight Creek. In Jenson, it intersects the southern terminus of KY 2013. It curves to the northeast and crosses over Straight Creek. The highway immediately intersects the southern terminus of KY 1630 just outside of Kettle Island. It also crosses over some CSX railroad tracks and continues to the northeast. After crossing Mill Creek, it crosses over the CSX tracks again and enters Laurel Ford. There, it briefly heads to the north-northwest before resuming its northeast direction. In Stoney Fork, it crosses over Stoney Fork and intersects the southern terminus of KY 2011 (Stoney Fork Road).

Harlan County

After entering Harlan County, KY 221 enters Tacky Town. It crosses over Big Run and

Laurel Branch A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

and intersects the northern terminus of KY 3448. It begins to travel along the southern edge of the Boone Forestlands Wildlife Management Area. It has a crossing of Salt Trace Branch and an intersection with the southern terminus of KY 1780. The highway then curves to the east and crosses Straight Creek one final time before curving to the southeast and leaving the creek. It intersects the southern terminus of KY 3466 (Bigelow Road) and then passes Green Hills Elementary School. Right after that, it intersects U.S. Route 421 (US 421). The two highways travel concurrently in a northeasterly direction, along the southern edge of Daniel Boone National Forest. When they split, KY 221 enters the forest proper. It heads to the east, passing Green and Middleton Cemeteries. It resumes its northeastern direction, then crosses over Laurel Fork and intersects the southern terminus of KY 2009. It then intersects the southern terminus of KY 3465 (Abner Branch Road). In Divide, it intersects the northern terminus of KY 2010. In Pine Mountain, it curves to the north and intersects the western terminus of KY 510. KY 221 then heads to the north-northwest and parallels Greasy Creek, with one crossing of the creek. In Big Laurel, the highway crosses over Big Laurel Creek and intersects the eastern terminus of KY 2008. KY 221 then heads to the northeast, paralleling Big Laurel Creek. It then curves to the north and north-northwest and enters

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States *Perry County, Alabama *Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois *Perry County, Indiana *Perry County, Kentucky *Perry County, Mississippi *Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perry Coun ...

Perry and Leslie counties

KY 221 doesn't have any major intersections in Perry County. It curves to the southwest and enters

Leslie County Leslie County is located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Hyden. Leslie is a prohibition or dry county. History Leslie County was founded in 1878. It was named for Preston H. Leslie, Governor of Kentucky (1871-1875). The Hur ...

. It curves to the north and northeast and meets its eastern terminus, an intersection with KY 699 (Cutshin Road).

Major intersections

References