1. From Nashville, take I-24 east to exit 111B.

2. Turn right off the exit to follow 55-E (0.4 miles) before turning right onto Ragsdale Rd, at a corner with a gas station. (This is a good bathroom stop, and probably your last chance to buy beer!)

3. Follow Ragsdale until the stop sign (11 miles) and turn right.

4. Turn left at the first road you see, Fred Lusk Rd. - (0.2 miles)

5. Follow the road for 1.6 miles before turning right at the end of the road (Highway 108)

6. Follow 108 to the stop sign. You will see the courthouse straight ahead of you. Turn left onto Hwy 56.

7. Stay on Hwy. 56. When you see Big Don's on the right (Big Don's used to be a quick market with gas pumps. It now sells gas and furniture), you are about two miles away. Keep looking to the right. Don't worry if you don't see it.

8. You will see an old boarded-up school that is now a community center, then the double wide post office, then another quick market (It's called the Beersheba Springs Market.)

9. The Beersheba Springs Market is the little market with gas pumps out front. You want to take the next  left and turn left onto Armfield Drive, which looks like a small road with a yellow line on the right side. If you pass a small strip shopping center and the library, you missed Armfield Drive. If you pass Stone Door Road on your left or start going back down a mountain, you have definitely passed Armfield Drive.

10. Once on Armfield Drive, turn left into the first driveway. Come on in!

About 170 miles from the Northside Parkway entrance to I-75.  Driving time is about 2 hours and 45 minutes (unless you stop).  Using Waze can be a great idea, especially as the section of I-24 we use is only 2 lanes in each direction and subject to backups.  Sometimes Waze will send you on I-75 and you circle around Chattanooga to the east; this works fine and at times avoids bad traffic on 24.

● Take I-75 North to Chattanooga.  Follow signs to I-24 and Nashville.

● Continue on I-24 through Chattanooga and beyond.  Stay on I-24 when I-59 splits off to the left some 15 minutes after you have gone through Chattanooga.

You now have a choice: stay on I-24 for a shorter time, or stay on I-24 a little longer.  Both routes get you to Beersheba, but by exiting I-24 at Jasper you arguably save 10 minutes.  And the author thinks it is a prettier route.  In fact, that section of Hwy 41 is designated as a Scenic Parkway.  However, you will spend more time on backroads, which while in excellent condition, are not the right choice if driving at night and/or in bad weather.

Beware: I have seen Waze direct you up the mountain on I-24, then back down the mountain on I-24, then back up from exit 127.  This is an example of goofy GPS directions – do not do this!!!   Follow our two recommendations below.

To spend less time on I-24:

(a) Exit I-24 at Jasper/Dunlap exit 155 (the second exit after crossing over Nickajack Lake).

(b) Turn right onto Route 28, and proceed for approx 2 miles to the traffic light.  Turn left at the traffic light, and at the next stop sign proceed straight.  You are now on US 41, headed to Tracy City.  Watch your speed along this short section, and elsewhere as noted below.

(c) Continue 15 miles on US-41 to Tracy City, ascending the mountain plateau.

(d) In Tracy City (see Travel Notes for bakery info), continue on US 41 by turning left at the 2nd (or 3rd?) traffic light.  Continue 1 block and turn right at the traffic light onto TN 56.  Watch your speed in Tracy City.

To spend more time on I-24:

(a) Continue on I-24, ascending the mountain, and take the *first* exit for Monteagle.  Watch your speed while in Monteagle, and while on your way to Tracy City.

(b) Turn right, and proceed approximately one mile, watching for signs for Hwy 41A.

(c) Turn right onto Hwy 41A and follow approximately five miles to Tracy City.  Watch your speed!

(d) In Tracy City, turn left at the traffic light onto Hwy 56.

Either way, you should now be on Hwy 56, leaving Tracy City, heading towards the next town, Coalmont.

● Continue 20 miles on TN 56 through Coalmont, Altamont, and on to Beersheba Springs.

● Beersheba is about 4 miles past Altamont.  Beersheba has few landmarks, and it is easy to drive right through it, especially at night.  So read on carefully!

Details of the final approach to Beersheba Springs:
Assuming the road signs haven't been vandalized, about 2 miles past Altamont you will first see a green road sign with white letters that marks the "city limits" of Beersheba Springs.  In another two miles or so you will see a brown sign with white letters that says "Now Entering Beersheba Springs National Historic District".  Slow down a bit, and after about a half mile later on the right you will see the "Beersheba Market" (a small general store).  You are now in the heart of Beersheba.  Slow down some more and pay attention!

For Wholemeal, take the next left onto the small paved road (about 50 yards past the Beersheba Market, just past the Beersheba Springs Museum on the left).  Once on the paved road, Wholemeal is the first driveway on the left (about 150 yards from TN 56).