Skip to main content

Bristol, TN Road Trips

Plan drives from Bristol, TN with practical route pages for distance, drive time, fuel cost, road character, and places to stop along the way.

city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Trip Routes

2

Longest Drive

488.1 mi

Bartlett, TN

Quickest Drive

6h 5m

Columbia, TN

Plan Around Bristol, TN

Popular Incoming Routes

Useful if Bristol, TN is the arrival point and you want the strongest routes into the city first.

Continue From Bristol, TN

Good next legs if this city is only one stop in a longer road trip.

Trips from Bristol, TN

Bristol, TN by the Numbers

Recent demographic snapshot from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Population

27,490

Median Income

$55,007

Median Home Value

$182,500

Median Age

41.9

Source: US Census Bureau ACS 5-year (public domain). See our methodology for details.

Bristol, TN at a Glance

Founded

1856

Elevation

1,677 ft

Area

32 mi²

Notable People from Bristol, TN

A sampling of people born in Bristol, TN.

Jayma Mays

Jayma Mays

1979

American actress

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Tennessee Ernie Ford

1919–1991

American recording artist and television host (1919–1991)

Clark Middleton

1957–2020

American actor

Justin Grimm

Justin Grimm

1988

American former professional baseball player

Clarence Ashley

Clarence Ashley

1895–1967

American musician (1895–1967)

Chase Owens

Chase Owens

1990

American professional wrestler (born 1990)

City data from Wikidata (Q917821), available under CC0. Photos from Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses. See our methodology for details.

Traveler Guide to Bristol, TN

Bristol is a city in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee, United States of America.

Bristol is a city bisected by the Virginia-Tennessee border; the north half is in Virginia and the south half in Tennessee. State Street runs along the borderline and the two cities share a downtown. Bristol, Virginia is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Washington County, Virginia and Sullivan County, Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 17,835. Bristol, Tennessee is in Sullivan County. As of the 2010 census, the city has a total population of 26,702. Originally named Goodson, the city was renamed to Bristol in 1890.

Downtown district including shopping, historic landmarks in the history of Country Music. Cumberland Square Park and War Memorial 1 Birthplace of Country Music Museum. (updated Jul 2018)

1 Bristol Motor Speedway, 151 Speedway Blvd. A NASCAR short track auto racing venue. An enlarged cartoon version of this track appeared as the "Motor Speedway of the South" in Pixar's "Cars" in 2006.

1 Eatz on Moore Street, 17 Moore St, ☏ +1 276 591-4755, [email protected]. (updated Sep 2021) 2 Shanghai Chinese Restaurant, 711 State St, ☏ +1 276 669-9000. (updated Sep 2021) 3 Stateline Bar and Grille, 644 State St, ☏ +1 423 652-0792. (updated Sep 2021)

1 Quality Inn & Suites, 131 Bristol East Road, ☏ +1 276 669-8164, fax: +1 276 669-2805. Courtyard Bristol, 3169 Linden Drive, ☏ +1 276 591-4400, fax: +1 276 591-4402. Delta Hotels by Marriott Bristol, 3135 Linden Dr, ☏ +1 276 466-4100. Motel 6, 21561 Clear Creek Road, ☏ +1 276 466-6060, fax: +1 276 466-0755.

1 Tri-Cities Airport (TRI IATA) (the closest major airport is approximately 20 miles driving distance). Interstate 81 connects Bristol with other cities (Roanoke, VA to the north and Knoxville, TN to the south) along a scenic and well maintained corridor that is a major route for private and commercial traffic. Bristol can be accessed via exits 1, 3, 5, and 7 in Virginia and exit 74 in Tennessee. Exit 3 on I-81 leads to I-381, a short spur freeway that takes traffic into downtown Bristol.

Public transportation is available to a limited portion of the city via a municipal bus system.

Travel tips adapted from Bristol (Tennessee-Virginia) on Wikivoyage, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Content summarized; visit the source for the full article. See our methodology for how we use it.

Trips to Bristol, TN

Escape Planner

Where to go from Bristol, TN?

Curated day trips, weekend getaways, and overnight routes — grouped by how much time you have and the kind of trip you want.

Drives from Bristol, TN in your inbox

Monthly note with new routes, weekend drive ideas, and seasonal picks for TN. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Browse more TN road trips or choose a route from Bristol, TN above.