There and Back Again: Boone to Knoxville
Journey the Great Smoky Grand across North Carolina and Tennessee
Backroads transport us to the places in between. This regularly occurring feature written by the Backroad Portfolio staff takes you to and from two southeastern destinations via winding rural roads lined with rustic country stores, captivating overlooks, natural hot springs, and majestic waterfalls. Take one route there and another back to experience two unique journeys.
Our summer excursion travels down rural North Carolina and Tennessee backroads mapped out by two brothers, Chris and Bryan Shugg. Inspired by a Michigan-based driving tour for auto enthusiasts organized by their uncle, the brothers created the Great Smoky Grand. We’ve added stops along the way we think you’ll love.
Start your journey in beautiful Boone, North Carolina, then end the first half of your trip in Knoxville, Tennessee’s pastoral suburbs. The drive to Knoxville takes approximately four hours and thirty-six minutes, while the return trip back to Boone takes different roads in exactly the same amount of time. We recommend booking an overnight stay so you can stretch out the experience and fully enjoy each stop.
At the end of this post, our paid subscribers will find Google Maps links from Boone to Knoxville, then back again from Knoxville to Boone, plus bonus info about unique accommodations so you can book an overnight stay to break up your trip.
GET THERE:
Boone, North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee
BACKROAD ROUTE:
4 hours and 36 minutes; 188 miles • 7 stops
Boone > Sugar Grove > Banner Elk > Roan Mountain > Jonesborough > Sevierville > Knoxville
STARTING POINT:
Hickory Ridge History Museum
591 Horn in the West Drive; Boone, North Carolina
horninthewest.com
Discover what life was like during the settlement of Western North Carolina’s high country at Hickory Ridge Museum, where you can tour six historic cabins, complete with artifacts and furnishings. Don’t miss your chance to watch Horn in the West, the outdoor drama that portrays Daniel Boone’s adventures in the Blue Ridge Mountains as he and other settlers fight to preserve their freedom before and during the Revolutionary War.
The Original Mast General Store
3565 Highway 194 South; Sugar Grove, North Carolina
mastgeneralstore.com/original-store
North Carolina’s first rural historic district, Valle Crucis, is also home to the original Mast General Store and Mast Store Annex in Sugar Grove. Slip into a timewarp as you step across creaking floorboards and are greeted by the store’s friendly staff. Inside, you’ll discover an old-fashioned community post office still in operation, 5-cent coffee, cast iron cookware, gourmet food, old-fashioned candy, a knife shop, and much more.
