State Route 218 (SR 218) is a primary

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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The state highway runs from

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

and US 17 Business in Falmouth east to SR 205 in Tetotum. SR 218 connects suburban communities in Stafford County east of Fredericksburg with rural areas in northern and eastern King George County. Most of SR 218 in King George County is a

Virginia Byway A Virginia Byway is a scenic road designated by the Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-A ...

Route description

SR 218 begins in Falmouth at the intersection with US 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) and US 17 Business, which joins US 1 south to cross the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

into Fredericksburg and heads west as Warrenton Road to reconnect with

US 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its len ...

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

. SR 218 heads east as two-lane undivided Butler Road through a suburban area, then expands to a four-lane divided highway prior to the intersection with SR 212 (Chatham Heights Road). SR 218 continues east as White Oak Road and crosses over

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

's RF&P Subdivision at its

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

with the Dahlgren Branch at Dahlgren Junction. East of the railroad crossing, the state highway reduces to a two-lane undivided highway that connects residential subdivisions and several small communities east of Fredericksburg, including

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

, McCarthys Corner, and

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

, which contains White Oak Church. After crossing Muddy Creek into King George County, SR 218's name changes to Caledon Road. After passing through the hamlet of

Passapatanzy Passapatanzy is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 1,283. History It was recorded as a Patawomeck village ruled by ''Japazaws,' ...

, the state highway follows a curvilinear alignment through a forested area. SR 218 passes through the hamlets of Mustoe,

Goby The Gobioidei are a suborder of percomorph fish. Many of these fishes are called gobies. It is by far the largest and most diverse order within the order Gobiiformes, and one of the most diverse groups of ray-finned fish in general. The subord ...

, and Osso and passes roads that head north to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

beach communities of Belvedere Beach, Fairview Beach, and Somerset Beach. Near the hamlets of Ambar and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, SR 218 passes along the edge of Caledon Natural Area, a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

that contains old growth forest and is a haven for bald eagles. At Berthaville, SR 218 joins SR 206 (Dahlgren Road) in a concurrency east to Owens. In Owens, SR 206 heads east toward Dahlgren while SR 218 turns south as Windsor Drive to an intersection with US 301 (James Madison Parkway). The state highway curves to the east to cross Upper Machodoc Creek, then turns south onto Tetotum Road. SR 218 passes through the community of Tetotum before reaching its eastern terminus at SR 205 (Ridge Road) just north of the Westmoreland County line at Pine Hill Creek.

Major intersections

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 218
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State Route 218 State Route 218