| Stretching 83 miles through verdant Volunteer State heartland interspersed with historic towns, the East Tennessee Crossing Byway connects two of America’s most treasured places of history and nature preservation, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The byway begins in Cumberland Gap on the Kentucky/Tennessee border and terminates at the Tennessee/North Carolina border.
Whether you need a quick getaway from the city or a long leisurely vacation, you can find it here. A drive along the East Tennessee Crossing Byway — and detours down its connecting idyllic country lanes and beautiful meandering backroads — beckons you to behold some of America’s most unforgettable landscapes around every bend, over every hill-rise and across every mountain top. Along the way you’ll encounter world-class recreation — fishing, hiking, whitewater rafting, golf, camping, boating, mountain biking, rock climbing, wildlife watching and birding. Through it all are places of cultural heritage protection and way-of-life preservation, like conservation museums, country music venues, farm-fresh produce stands and markets, local arts and crafts makers and sellers, walkable historic downtowns and an abundance of unforgettable food and comfortable lodging options. Just as the early pioneers made new lives in this region, people from all over the world are discovering East Tennessee as a wonderful place to recreate, relocate or retire. |
