Inspiration
Start anywhere. Every idea below already lives on a plannable trip across Northeast Tennessee.
Collection · 4 stops · Year-round
The Whiskey Weekend
Stills, speedway lights, and the streets where country music was born.
Collection · 4 stops · Best April to October
Waterfalls & Wild Places
Three-tier falls, 6,000-foot balds, and whitewater through the East's deepest gorge.
Collection · 5 stops · Year-round
Appalachian Time Travel
Tennessee's oldest towns, a president's tailor shop, and a spring that breathes.
Collection · 3 stops · Best May to September
Lake Days
Clear water ringed by national forest, and trophy trout below the dam.
Sullivan County
Tennessee Hills Distillery
Craft whiskey, live music, and food in downtown Bristol.
Ready-made trip · 2 days · 2 counties
Whiskey, Wheels & Rhythm
Bristol's holy trinity, a distillery, a speedway, and the birthplace of country music, plus Johnson City's food scene.
Sullivan County
Bristol Motor Speedway
The Last Great Colosseum.
Ready-made trip · 3 days · 3 counties
Highlands & High Water
Roan Mountain balds, Watauga Lake, and Nolichucky whitewater, the outdoor spine of the Appalachian Highlands.
Sullivan County
Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Where the 1927 Bristol Sessions changed American music.
Ready-made trip · 2 days · 3 counties
The Lost Frontier
The Tennessee most travelers never see: ebbing springs, Melungeon heritage, a president's tailor shop, and Davy Crockett's riverbank.
Sullivan County
South Holston Lake & Dam
Trophy trout water below, 7,500 acres of lake above.
Washington County
International Storytelling Center
The world capital of storytelling.
Washington County
Historic Jonesborough
Tennessee's oldest town, founded 1779.
Washington County
Tweetsie Trail
10 miles of rail-trail from Johnson City to Elizabethton.
Carter County
Roan Mountain State Park
Grassy balds at 6,000 feet and June rhododendron blooms.
Carter County
Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park
Where the Overmountain Men mustered in 1780.
Carter County
Watauga Lake
Appalachia's clearest lake, ringed by national forest.
Unicoi County
Nolichucky River Gorge
Class III-IV whitewater through the East's deepest gorge.
Unicoi County
Rocky Fork State Park
One of Tennessee's newest and wildest state parks.
Johnson County
Doe Mountain Recreation Area
8,600 acres of ATV, mountain bike, and horseback trails.
Greene County
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
The 17th president's home, tailor shop, and story.
Greene County
Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park
Born on a mountain top? Born right here on the Nolichucky.
Hawkins County
Historic Rogersville
Tennessee's second-oldest town, home of its oldest inn.
Hawkins County
Ebbing & Flowing Spring
One of only two known ebbing and flowing springs on Earth.
Hancock County
Vardy Historic Community
The heart of Melungeon heritage in Appalachia.
Hancock County
Elrod Falls
Three-tiered falls hidden in Tennessee's quietest county.
Sullivan County
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol
Resort-scale entertainment on the state line.
Greene County
General Morgan Inn
Greeneville's grand 1884 railroad hotel, still holding court downtown.
Greene County
Niswonger Performing Arts Center
National acts on a Greeneville stage that punches far above its weight.
Watch the region
Shot here, by people who live here.
From the region
