State Route 68 (SR 68) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the eastern part of the U.S. state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Route description

SR 68 begins in southeastern Tennessee, at an intersection with

Georgia State Route 5 State Route 5 (SR 5) is a state highway that travels south-to-north through portions of Carroll, Douglas, Cobb, Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer, and Fannin counties in the western and northern parts of the U.S. state of Georgia. The hi ...

(SR 5) and SR 60 at the Tennessee–

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

state line in

Copperhill, Tennessee Copperhill is a city in Polk County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 443 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Copperhill is located in a geological region known as the Copper Basi ...

, and

McCaysville, Georgia McCaysville is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,149 at the 2020 census. History Prior to European colonization, the area that is now McCaysville was inhabited by the Cherokee people and other Indigenous peopl ...

. It then goes north to Ducktown where it junctions with

U.S. Route 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

(US 64) and

US 74 U.S. Route 74 (US 74) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Primarily in North Carolina, it serves as an important highway from the mountains to the ...

. The route continues north and enters the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasses ...

and goes through a mostly rural area, then in Turtletown it turns east and junctions with SR 123. SR 68 then turns back north and continues through a sparsely populated area and crosses over the

Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia. It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee Riv ...

. The route then becomes curvy and dangerous. It then enters

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

and goes through Coker Creek and then Tellico Plains and junctions with SR 165 (

Cherohala Skyway The Cherohala Skyway is a National Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway that connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina in the southeastern United States. Its name is a portmanteau of Cherokee and Nantahala, ...

). In Tellico Plains, SR 68 serves as the eastern terminus for SR 39; it then proceeds north to Madisonville where it meets US 411/ SR 33. After this junction, the route then turns more northwesterly toward Sweetwater and passes The Lost Sea. In Sweetwater, it turns west and junctions with

US 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

and

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

(I-75). Just past the I-75 junction, the route enters

McMinn County McMinn County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,794. The county has a total area of . Most of the county is within the Ridge and Valley province of the Ap ...

where there are no highway junctions. It then enters Meigs County and Ten Mile and junctions with SR 305, SR 58, and brief runs concurrently with SR 304. It then crosses

Watts Bar Dam Watts Bar Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Meigs and Rhea counties in Tennessee, United States. The dam is one of nine dams on the main Tennessee River channel operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam i ...

and the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

into Rhea County near the

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear reactor pair used for electric power generation. It is located on a 1,770-acre (7.2 km²) site in Rhea County, Tennessee, near Spring City, between the cities of Cha ...

and continues west. The route then has a concurrency with SR 302 and a concurrency with

US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 1 in Florida, US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in India ...

/ SR 29. US 27 and SR 68 go north to Spring City where SR 68 turns back west and US 27 goes north. Just after leaving Spring City, it turns back to north crosses over Waldens Ridge into

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

where the route ends at a Y-intersection with

US 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...

/ SR 28 in

Cumberland Homesteads Cumberland Homesteads is a community located in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. Established by the New Deal-era Division of Subsistence Homesteads in 1934, the community was envisioned by federal planners as a model of cooperative ...

near Crossville and

Cumberland Mountain State Park Cumberland Mountain State Park is a state park in Cumberland County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of situated around Byrd Lake, a man-made lake created by the impoundment of Byrd Creek in the 1930s. The park ...

History

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline 068 Transportation in Polk County, Tennessee Transportation in Monroe County, Tennessee Transportation in McMinn County, Tennessee Transportation in Meigs County, Tennessee Transportation in Rhea County, Tennessee Transportation in Cumberland County, Tennessee

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links