KY 185 begins on Gordon Avenue at a junction with the concurrently running US 68/KY 80 just north of downtown Bowling Green.

[4] After this junction, KY 185 continues north, crossing the Butler–Edmonson County line three times on its way to the Big Reedy community.

[7][8] KY 185's run within Warren County was originally Kentucky Route 67 from the 1930s until the discontinuation of the Bear Creek Ferry around 1967/68.

The ferry provided a more direct route from Bowling Green to western Edmonson County.

In the early 1950s, KY 185 was extended to follow a path from the Glenmore area to a junction with U.S. Route 31W at Bristow, near the present-day location of Warren East High School.