Nashville to Franklin & Leipers Fork: The Best Day Trip You’ll Make From Music City
If you’re asking “Is Franklin worth a day trip from Nashville?”, this is the trip we’d repeat. One car, one day, biscuits at Loveless, a scenic Natchez Trace stop, frank talk about Franklin’s history and a sunset wander through tiny, music‑soaked Leiper’s Fork.
Two days into Nashville, and we were already in love with the city. Broadway, honky tonks, biscuits the size of our heads — but honestly? The day we picked up the hire car and pointed it south was the day everything clicked.
If you’re spending any time in Music City and you’re wondering whether a day trip from Nashville to Franklin is worth it, yes. Emphatically, unequivocally yes. Add Leipers Fork to the loop, and you’ve got one of the best days of driving we’ve had anywhere, full stop.
We did this as Day 1 of our full Deep South road trip itinerary, and it set the tone for everything that followed. Southern food, a genuinely moving history lesson, a village of 650 people where Grammy winners play Thursday open mic nights, and a drive beautiful enough that we kept pulling over to look at it.
Also, by the end, we’ve included our personal tip on how to make this itinerary really epic. With a little detour, you can make it to the legendary Jack Daniel’s Distillery and a quick visit to Lynchburg.
👋Toti & Ale here
London couple, 45+ countries, 300+ guides. We are full-time content creators, travelling as slowmads, spending quality time in places we love the most. We run this and several other blogs from the best places in the world. This guide is all about our first-hand itinerary exploring Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana on one of the most amazing road trips in Deep South USA.
At a glance: Nashville to Franklin and Leipers Fork day trip
- Morning: Pick up the rental car downtown in Nashville (It’s cheaper and more efficient than the airport).
- Breakfast: Loveless Café is a must stop for delicious biscuits.
- Late morning: Natchez Trace Parkway bridge stop → pull over, take the photos.
- Noon–2 pm: Franklin Main Street → March to Freedom statue, Fuller Story markers, Whites Mercantile, Landmark Booksellers.
- Early afternoon: The Factory at Franklin → water tower, market (Saturdays), Five Daughters Bakery for dessert.
- Lunch: Franklin Butchery — go early or book ahead.
- 3–6 pm: Leipers Fork → Fox & Locke, Leipers Creek Gallery, the creek, the cowgirl hat pop-up, and the distillery.
- Evening (if staying): Kimbro’s, Amendment XVIII, or Leipers Fork House of Spirits.
Whether you do this as a standalone Leipers Fork day trip, a long day out from Nashville, or — as we did — the opening chapter of something much bigger heading south, it works. All of it. We still talk about the biscuits.
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Follow on InstagramWhy this loop works so well
Most posts send you either to Franklin or to Leipers Fork. Rarely both, and almost never in a way that stitches them into a single, honest itinerary with context about what you’re actually looking at. We did it all in one day as the opening leg of our Nashville to New Orleans road trip, and it set the tone for everything that followed.
Our day out from Nashville was a balance between Southern food, history, and the music soul. Everything was miles away from the crowds and the chaos of Broadway. Life in the small counties of Tennessee feels more slow-paced, and honestly, I really liked it. Wish to stay more than just one night in Franklin.
Note for First-time drivers in the US: Driving in Tennessee is a dream and perfect if it’s your first time. The loop from Nashville to Franklin is a gentle introduction to American roads. Nothing aggressive. No interstate confusion.
Just Highway 100, then a parkway, then a two-lane back road lined with wooden fences and rolling fields. Even in town (both of them), it’s a slow-paced drive. However, be careful to Sheriff in action. In small counties, it is easier to find police blocks hiding behind bushes looking to catch drivers speeding or in violation.
The Route: Here’s how we actually planned it!
Nashville → Loveless Cafe → Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge → Franklin Main Street → The Factory at Franklin → Leipers Fork → back to Nashville.
Circular, logical, and every bit as good as it sounds. Total driving time across the whole loop is well under two hours. The rest of the day? Yours.
Breakfast at Loveless Cafe: Do Not Skip This
Forget the hotel breakfast. We skipped the downtown coffee shop and once picked up the car at the Avis shop downtown, drove about 30 minutes on Highway 100. Loveless Cafe is the stop most of the locals will tell you about. It’s intimate, but less known as a touristy spot and more as a hangout for local families. Glad this was on our itinerary on day one.
Loveless has been sitting at the end of Highway 100 since 1951. It looks exactly like the American roadside diners you’ve seen in every film — gingham tablecloths, walls covered in mismatched signed photos, silverware rolled in plain napkins. Nothing has been fancied up. Nothing is trying too hard. And the food is, genuinely, exceptional.
We ordered the biscuits, obviously. If you’re from the UK, these are not biscuits — they’re closer to a salty, dense scone, and the pairing with their homemade blackberry jam is borderline unreasonable.
The jam is made in-house, the blackberry is the one to get, and we ate far more than we should have. Our server, Allie, kept topping up the coffee without being asked, which is the kind of service that makes you want to move to Tennessee permanently.
We also added roasted potato cubes sprinkled with fresh herbs that were doing the rounds — went from a sweet breakfast to a savoury one in about 90 seconds and had zero complaints about it. Budget a slow 90 minutes here. The place moves fast, but nobody will rush you out.
Loveless Cafe | 8400 TN-100, Nashville | Open daily from 7 am | Go for the biscuits, stay for the jam, leave having eaten too much.**
The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
From Loveless, you’re essentially already on the right road. Head south on Highway 100, and the Natchez Trace Parkway picks you up almost immediately.
Quick fact: the Natchez Trace runs 444 miles from Nashville all the way down to Natchez, Mississippi, and it’s technically the 8th most visited national park in the US. Most people have no idea it’s a national park. The only regret I have is that I couldn’t fly the drone here, as the view is spectacular.
The double-arch bridge near Franklin is the standout stop — the engineering is quietly spectacular, and on a clear day, the views stretch for miles through the Tennessee valley.
When we visited, the bridge was closed for maintenance, so we couldn’t walk out onto it. Still worth stopping at the roadside pullout for the view. Even from below, it’s striking. We’ve already said we want to come back in autumn, when those 444 miles of parkway turn into something genuinely extraordinary.
GPS for the bridge: 4034 New Hwy 96, Franklin, TN — you can’t miss it when you get close.
Arrive in Franklin and explore the town
Most Franklin, TN, day trip itinerary guides sell you on cute streets and Civil War houses. Both of those things are true. But there’s a layer to Franklin’s public square that most posts skip entirely, and it’s worth understanding before you get there.
Walk around Main Street
We arrived smack into Franklin’s annual rodeo day, which meant the whole town centre — all four crossed streets of it — was blocked by a parade. Absolute chaos. We gave up on finding free parking, paid for the lot off Main Street (first 30 minutes free, then it gets pricey fast), and walked the square with coffee in hand while the floats rolled past.
And while we were standing there, slightly overwhelmed by the general rodeo energy, we noticed the March to Freedom statue.
Surrounding Franklin’s public square — right next to the Confederate monument — are five Fuller Story historical markers and this statue, which honours USCT soldiers: the United States Colored Troops. It’s one of only six in the nation, and the only one displayed in the public square of a city.
I soon discovered that this monument has a high significance, also because of the location. The square held slave markets, witnessed race riots, saw the Battle of Franklin, and then saw freed slaves sign up at the courthouse to join the Union Army. The Confederate monument and the March to Freedom statue face the same square. That tension is intentional.
The Factory at Franklin
About ten minutes by car from Main Street sits The Factory at Franklin, a former 1929 stove manufacturing plant that’s now home to local shops, food vendors, a theatre space, and a weekly Saturday farmers market near the iconic water tower out front.
Before we entered, I was impressed by the water tank. It is actually visible from the main road, and gave us a welcome to the city. Anyway, because of the rodeo downtown, it seems that the factory was pretty quiet, so it was a quick snack stop for us.
Loved the Tennessee-themed shops (Made in TN is my favourite), almost went for a perfect ice cream, but ended up just for a coffee at Honest Coffee Roasters, which has become my favourite coffee chain in the south.
Lunch: Franklin Butchery
This one is a genuine winner. Franklin Butchery is a burger spot dressed as a butcher shop — we could practically see it from a glass window, next to the cooker. The passage from meat to burger is instant, making it fresh, juicy and perfectly cooked. Locals love it, and some were surprised to see tourists around.
We walked in, customised our burgers with an embarrassing number of toppings, and ate something that had no business being as good as it was. Go early or book ahead because the queue builds fast at noon. Watch the food video here!
They have a parking lot, which technically is only for customers. We left our car there for a well deserved dessert after lunch – saved on parking.
Leipers Fork: the hidden gem without tourists
Later in the afternoon, we drove to Leipers Fork, Tennessee, a hidden gem in plain sight. We were the only tourists there, and honestly, talking to locals, they confessed that they don’t see many around here and often.
Before planning this trip, I saw a couple of photos and videos about Leipers Fork, but honestly, it’s even better to explore it. It’s one of those places that I genuinely feel will soon or later explode in tourism.
They were right to suggest not skipping Leipers Fork. Our tour coordinator, the woman at the hotel desk, was a stranger at the farmers’ market. All of them. And every single one of them was right.
Leipers Fork sits about ten minutes south of Franklin on the Natchez Trace — technically a village of about 650 people. In practice, it carries more character than cities ten times its size. We parked the car behind Fox & Locke, the most picturesque saloon we encountered on the trip.
Note from us: Country music found its crossroads here long before Nashville became a brand. You’ll feel the atmosphere the moment you drive in. Leipers Fork doesn’t pretend to be hyped; it just is. It’s a heritage village, not a tourist attraction, people live here, they are nice, welcoming, but not trespassing or harassing properties just for a photo or a moment of fame.
Fox & Locke
The music, the vibes, the sun shining outside and a bunch of very welcome locals. These are my best memories arriving in Leipers Fork for the first time. The main event is always at Fox & Locke. A saloon like you’ll just see in movies.
It was founded in 1947 and has been in continuous operation ever since — it spent years under the Puckett’s name. It was the original location of what became the Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant chain.
When we walked in, an old country band was playing in front of a stage with a massive American flag behind it. Not for us. Not for tourists. Just because it was Saturday afternoon, and that’s what happens here.
Grammy winners who live in the village play Thursday open mic nights. Legends want the record label scouts to still sit in the crowds. The whole place feels like the kind of bar you’d want to be a regular at — if only you lived in Tennessee.
We stayed longer than planned, which meant our Leipers Fork Distillery visit got cut (they close earlier than expected — check ahead and plan accordingly). Zero regrets about the extra time at Fox & Locke, though. Zero.
Leipers Fork Creek, boutique shops and galleries
We wandered the short stretch of streets, ducked into Leipers Creek Gallery, Patina Home and Garden till Leipers Corner. No one house was similar to the others; each and every one had some unique touch. The patio with swings, small tables for fresh drinks and watching the only road getting busy on a Saturday afternoon.
When we got inside David Arms Gallery, we saw the creek, Crown Winery Leipers Fork did the rest. We walked down toward the stream, and locals sat directly in the water. Loved and perhaps stayed more than we should have, but found new friends.
The unwritten rule here is that every shop, bar, and gallery has a porch. The whole philosophy of the place is: sit down, slow down, talk to whoever’s next to you. Give yourself at least two hours. More if Fox & Locke has a good band on — which it almost certainly will.
Should you make it a two-day trip?
The loop from Nashville and back is absolutely doable in one long day. But if you want to slow it down, add a proper evening in Franklin, and wake up with the Natchez Trace to yourself at dawn — stay the night at The Harpeth Hotel.
It was the best choice for us, as I loved walking around the quiet and safe Franklin at night.
The Harpeth Hotel is unique. It’s the first boutique hotel in Franklin’s downtown core in decades, and it is very, very good. We checked in as part of the wider Deep South road trip, and it was one of the best nights on the entire route.
Central location, easy walking to everything, secure parking just behind the hotel if you don’t want to bother with valet. After dinner and drinks at Puckett’s Restaurant — warm, proper Southern food, not a bad thing on the menu — we were in bed early enough to leave for Lynchburg fresh the following morning.
For evening options:
- Kimbro’s Pickin Parlour is a former house turned live music venue with bands playing until 3 am, and big names apparently still drop in after making it.
- The Leipers Fork House of Spirits on Main Street does tasting flights of its whiskey alongside live music.
- And if you want to feel very clever about yourself, the Amendment XVIII Speakeasy is through the back of a pizza restaurant — flip the switch under the green light, step into a proper prohibition-era cocktail bar. Yes, really.
Lynchburg and Jack Daniel’s Distillery
I don’t deny that one of the most interesting things on my Southern road trip was the famous Tennessee Whisky distillery. Sounds like a cliché, but the tour was good, and the tasting was definitely even better. I appreciated Jack before this visit, but now I understand even more why.
If you are planning a day trip to Franklin and Leipers Fork, it will be hard to squeeze a Jack Daniel’s Distillery visit. If you still want to have a tour of how they make whisky in Tennessee, I suggest going to the Leipers Fork Distillery around 2 pm.
So you still have time to actually see the little town after that. Instead of staying one night in Franklin, we departed around 9 am and arrived in Lynchburg at 9.45 am. After 10 minutes, we joined the group tour, which lasts about 2 hours (sampling included).
Making it a two-day escape from Nashville is more relaxing and actually helps you to enjoy the atmosphere of the Tennessee countryside better.
