Over the spring semester, I had to travel to a site for a school project. The site was a couple hours away and luckily enough, I had just driven one of the roads leading up to it the week or so prior. So instead of catching the interstate, I was comfortable enough to hit the backroads instead. With the blessing on my passenger (another classmate) we picked the curviest route, which ended up being TN-62 for about half of the trip. We even managed to beat the other groups to the site and they all took the interstate.
The TN-62 drive begins around Oliver Springs at the TN-61 intersection. This is also the bottom section of the triangle in the Devil’s Triangle. In fact, the beginning of the triangle is just a mile or so from the start of this drive.
From TN-61 to TN-116, TN-62 is a bunch of sweepers with relatively mild elevation changes. The action slows down as you enter Wartburg and I believe the speed limit is around 25 mph this area. Just outside of Wartburg, you need to make a left to stay on TN-62. There is a sign, however, it sneaks up on you quick, and it’s a two-lane highway with no turning lane for traffic turning left.
This section of the highway is called Nashville Highway and it is probably the curviest portion of the drive until you reach Lancing, TN. There are a few switchbacks and blind turns in this section, just be on the lookout for logging trucks.
Beyond Lancing, it’s just typical southern backroads driving until you reach Clarkrange, TN. From here you can either stay on TN-62 for about 15-miles until you reach Monterey; where you can hop on I-40 and head back to Knoxville, or you can turn onto US-127 and head north; which is actually a decent drive in itself, especially beyond Jamestown. There is another road in this area which I will post about at a later date.
Overall, TN-62 approximately 50-miles of pretty chill backroads driving. I think it’s a good change of pace from The Dragon of the Devil’s Triangle.
Cheers!
B.黒曜石 