Scenic cruise from Nashville to Atlanta

The highways running through the Shelbyville/Lewisburg area are not bad, but you'll have to drive straight south from Nashville and then go east from Shelbyville, which isn't exactly a straight shot to Atlanta. Take Highway 31 from Nashville to go through Franklin (a great town) and get to Lewisburg. Take Nolensville Pike from Nashville to go through Nolensville, Henry Horton State Park, and then arrive in Shelbyville. Lewisburg is West of Shelbyville, so if you go the former route you can go through both towns in one drive. Observe strictly all 35mph speed limits...don't much exceed the rest of the highways' 55mph limits either.

Also, I have driven Highway 70 all the way from Nashville to Knoxville. Took about 4 hours, but didn't have as much scenery as I'd hoped. The road often spreads out into four/five lanes when it runs through the smaller towns. That's another option.

Other than that, I wouldn't describe very many Tennessee roads outside of the East Tennessee (Chattanooga, Knoxville) area to be that "scenic." It might be more worth your time to take I40 from Nashville to Knoxville and work your way down through the mountains. This is where Highway 129 sits, the Charohala Skyway, etc.

Good luck.

 

I live in TN and would be hesitant to drive my 308 on any stretch of I40. It's like the Freightliner 500...truck after truck after truck.

 

+1..It will be WELL worth changing your route to wind up in Knoxville rather than Nashville if "The DRIVE" is you main purpose. The route south through the mountains from there to Atlanta is made up of roads that people travel from all over the world to enjoy. truly brilliant driving the whole way...but it will add a time to the trip...this will be time well spent!

 

Going from Atlanta to Indianapolis, I took I-24 and I-65 from Chattanooga to Louisville (via Nashville) and returned on I-64 and I-75 (via Knoxville). From a strictly freeway standpoint, the latter route was definitely more scenic, particularly in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee. It is a bit longer than the other route, but not by much.

 

You will very much enjoy that.

 

If you begin to "zero in" on your schedule I am sure a few of us would meet you in the mountains somewhere along the way. Keep us posted,

 

If you take I-75 to I-575 / 515 from Atlanta then GA 60 (just past Blue Ridge) / 60 spur to NC 60 to US 64 then west to NC 294 to TN 68 to the Cherohola skyway to US 129 then up to Deal's Gap I think you will enjoy that route.


BT

 

If you're coming down I-75 from Chattanooga, get off at exit 336 and go east on US-76 until you get to Chatsworth. Then turn left onto GA-2/GA-52 and you'll enjoy a nice mountain ride to Ellijay. Once there, you can take GA-515 south, which becomes I-575 and rejoins I-75 in Kennesaw.

What I like about Chatsworth-to-Ellijay is that there are two ways to get there, and most of the "normal" traffic takes the less sporty US-76, thus leaving GA-2/GA-52 to the more adventurous among us!