Knoxville to Atlanta road trip guide: Distance, time & best stops

The distance from Knoxville to Atlanta by car is 213 miles, with a 3h4m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Knoxville to Atlanta drive are the Lost Sea Adventure, Chattanooga and the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site.

Planning a Knoxville to Atlanta road trip itinerary

A Knoxville to Atlanta road trip takes you from the gateway to Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains to the biggest city in Georgia.

Highlights of Knoxville include World’s Fair Park, which hosted the 1982 World’s Fair. The often-dazzling Sunsphere is the major landmark, here. You can also visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Knoxville Museum of Art.

Other Knoxville experiences include ghost tours and downtown walking tours that pick out local secret spots, while serving up coffee and ice cream.

Top Knoxville accommodation options include the handily-located Graduate Knoxville, the affordable Hampton Inn and Suites Knoxville Downtown and the character-packed Oliver Hotel. To compare prices, search here.

Atlanta played a massive part in the Civil Rights movement, and a black history and civil rights tour is pretty much a must-do.

For more Atlanta experiences, try a sightseeing trolley tour for orientation and overview. Or a guided bike ride to get a better feel for the neighbourhoods.

Other Atlanta favourites include the World of Coca Cola, Midtown food and cocktail tours and multi-brewery beer tours.

Knoxville to Atlanta distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Knoxville to Atlanta is 213 miles. This makes for a driving time of around three hours and four minutes. Note that this is travelling along the I-75, which is not the shortest route, but it is the quickest.

The best stops to add to a Knoxville to Atlanta road trip itinerary are the Lost Sea Adventure, Chattanooga and the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site.

Knoxville to Atlanta road trip attractions: The Lost Sea Adventure

The Lost Sea Adventure in Sweetwater, Tennessee, is a somewhat different take on a cave tour. There’s a walk for three quarters of a mile, where guides explain the history of the caverns and the geology of the cave decorations.

However, once you get to the bottom of the cave, there’s a twist – you get on a boat and take a ride across the Lost Sea. This is supposedly America’s largest underground lake.

Best stops between Knoxville and Atlanta: Chattanooga

Chattanooga in the foothills of the Appalachians is home to the National Medal of Honor Heritage Museum and the Tennessee Aquarium. But it’s mostly an outdoorsy place. Great Chattanooga experiences include rafting on the Middle Ocoee River, backcountry tours in Swincars and kayak adventures to the Nickajack Bat Cave. You can also try Segway tours, guided ghost walks and trolley tours.

Knoxville to Atlanta drive: Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site

The Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site is home to six large earth mounds, plus a plaza, defensive ditch and site of a village. Between 1000 AD and 1550 AD, there was a lot more going on here, as several thousand Native Americans live here.

A walking trail links the mounds, while the museum tells of the Mississippian Culture that created them.

The Atlanta skyline.
The Atlanta skyline. Photo by 12019/ Pixabay.

More Knoxville road trips

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More Atlanta road trips

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Hampton GA to Atlanta | Atlanta to Hilton Head | Houston to Atlanta | Atlanta to Indianapolis | Atlanta to Jackson MS | Atlanta to Jacksonville | Jonesboro GA to Atlanta | Atlanta to Kansas City | LaGrange GA to Atlanta | Atlanta to Lexington KY |  Atlanta to Little Rock | Atlanta to Louisville | Atlanta to Macon GA | McDonough GA to Atlanta | Memphis to Atlanta | Atlanta to Milwaukee | Minneapolis to Atlanta | Atlanta to Mobile AL | Atlanta to Montgomery AL | Morrow GA to Atlanta | Atlanta to Myrtle Beach.

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