# Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain *Southern Tennessee the long way* Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain is a ~340-mile back-roads route from Memphis to Chattanooga on US 64 and TN 55, driven in 2–3 days, that stays off I-40 / I-24 through the Upper South. - **Drive:** Memphis → Chattanooga - **Distance:** ~340 mi - **Days:** 2–3 - **Highways:** US 64, TN 55 - **Avoids:** I-40 / I-24 - **Region:** Upper South - **Themes:** Civil War, Eats & Institutions, Oddities & Roadside Wonders, History & Markers The southern tier of Tennessee, where I-40 never goes: Shiloh's terrible quiet, slugburgers across the Mississippi line, the whiskey hollow that made Jack Daniel (and the enslaved man who taught him), a Victorian Chautauqua on the mountain — and the grand finale, Lookout Mountain's holy trinity of American roadside attractions. See Rock City. You've read the barns; now obey them. Markers: Tennessee Civil War Trails markers and the See Rock City barns (Clark Byers painted ~900 of them, 1935–69) are the route's twin signage traditions. ## The drive, segment by segment ### West Tennessee to Shiloh *Memphis → Savannah · ~115 mi* Cotton flats and courthouse squares out to Pittsburg Landing, where America learned in April 1862 what the war would really cost — with the Corinth spur for history and deep-fried heresy. Stops: - **Shiloh National Military Park** (Shiloh) · Civil War — April 6–7, 1862: 23,746 casualties — more than all of America's previous wars combined. The Bloody Pond, the Hornet's Nest, and Indian mounds 800 years older watching the river. Come at opening; the fog does the interpreting. - **Corinth & the Slugburger (spur)** (Corinth, MS) · Eats & Institutions — The rail junction both armies bled for (the interpretive center is superb). Then: a slugburger — Depression-stretched, deep-fried, gloriously humble — at Borroum's Drug Store (Mississippi's oldest, 1865) or the White Trolley. - **Buford Pusser Museum** (Adamsville) · Cult Classics & Pop Lore — Home of the stick-swinging sheriff who inspired Walking Tall (1973) — the home museum keeps the legend, the cars and the complicated truth. ### Whiskey & the Highland Rim *Savannah → Monteagle · ~180 mi* Crockett's Lawrenceburg, Pulaski's reckoning, the Lynchburg hollow (dry county, famous whiskey), and Sewanee's sandstone Oxford on the mountain. Stops: - **Crockett's Lawrenceburg** (Lawrenceburg) · History & Markers — David Crockett ran gristmills here before politics and the Alamo; statue on the square, replica mills in the state park, 'be always sure you're right — then go ahead' energy throughout. - **Pulaski's Reckoning** (Pulaski) · History & Markers — The Klan was founded in a law office here in 1865 — and the town has spent generations refusing to let that define it: the commemorative plaque was famously unbolted and remounted facing the wall. A sober, honest stop. - **Jack Daniel's Hollow (spur)** (Lynchburg) · Eats & Institutions — The cave spring, the rickyard — and the overdue centering of Nearest Green, the enslaved distiller who taught Jack the craft (his descendants' Uncle Nearest brand now thrives nearby). Moore County is still dry; samples only. Book Miss Mary Bobo's boarding-house table. - **Sewanee & Monteagle** (Sewanee) · Small Towns — The University of the South's sandstone gothic in 13,000 mountain acres — students in gowns, views forever. Next door, the 1882 Monteagle Assembly still runs its Victorian Chautauqua summers. ### The Mountain *Monteagle → Chattanooga · ~45 mi* Down the plateau to Chattanooga: Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline, Point Park's Battle Above the Clouds — and a Moon Pie for the road. Stops: - **Lookout Mountain Trinity** (Chattanooga) · Oddities & Roadside Wonders — Rock City (fairyland caverns, seven states, the gnomes), Ruby Falls (a 145-ft waterfall 26 stories underground, found in 1928), and the Incline's 72.7% grade. Garnet Carter invented mini-golf up here too. The roadside-attraction Holy Land. - **Point Park & Chickamauga** (Chattanooga) · Civil War — The 'Battle Above the Clouds' from Lookout's brow, and Chickamauga just south — the war's second-bloodiest field, preserved in 1890 as America's first national military park. - **MoonPie General Store** (Chattanooga) · Eats & Institutions — Born here in 1917 when a miner asked for a snack 'as big as the moon.' RC Cola pairing optional but constitutionally protected. ## Tips and best time to go - Shiloh and Chickamauga bookend the route — battlefield people should budget half a day each. - Jack Daniel's tours sell out; reserve. Miss Mary Bobo's sells out further; reserve sooner. - Count See Rock City barns; first to ten picks dinner. ## Worth a detour - **Unclaimed Baggage Center** — Scottsboro, AL (45 min south of Chattanooga): where America's lost airline luggage is sorted and sold — pair it with the town's sobering Scottsboro Boys Museum. - **Old Stone Fort** — Manchester: a 2,000-year-old ceremonial enclosure between forks of the Duck River. - **Falls of the plateau** — Foster Falls and Greeter Falls hide minutes off the Monteagle grade. ## Spurs & side-roads - Corinth & the slugburger - Lynchburg (TN 55) ## Frequently asked questions ### How long is Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain and how many days does it take? Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain is about 340 miles and takes 2–3 days at a back-roads pace. ### Where does Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain start and end? It runs from Memphis to Chattanooga. ### Which highways does Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain follow? It follows US 64 and TN 55. ### Which interstate does Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain replace? It avoids I-40 / I-24, using US 64 and TN 55 instead. ### How many stops are on Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain, and what are the highlights? 10 stops are mapped, including Shiloh National Military Park, Corinth & the Slugburger (spur), Buford Pusser Museum, Crockett's Lawrenceburg and Pulaski's Reckoning. ### Which ready-made itineraries include Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain? The Whole Hog (28 days) and The Long Way to the Opry (21 days). ## Ready-made itineraries using this route - [The Whole Hog](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/whole-hog) — 28 days, ~4300 mi - [The Long Way to the Opry](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/music-epic) — 21 days, ~3000 mi ## Connects with - [US 41: Dixie Highway & the Atlanta Campaign](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/dixie-hwy-41) — Chattanooga → Atlanta - [The Overhill Country](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/overhill) — Chattanooga → Gatlinburg - [US 11: The Valley South](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us11-valley-south) — Chattanooga → Meridian --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/tn-64 Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05