Let’s head out together for a 52-mile drive along U.S. Highway 70 from Dickson to Bruceton, Tennessee — a stretch of the famed Broadway of America that offers a pleasant blend of small-town charm, farmland scenery, and a taste of local music history. We kick things off in Dickson, starting right where Henslee Drive meets TN-46 on the north side of town. As we roll through Dickson, we pass familiar local stops and cross over TN-48, a busy connector for the area, before the highway eases us out of town and into the more rural side of western Middle Tennessee.
Once we’re beyond Dickson, U.S. 70 briefly sheds its wider city lanes and settles into a classic two-lane setup as we approach Tennessee City. This little dot on the map may be small, but it gives us our first glimpse of the rolling countryside ahead. From here, it’s an easy westbound cruise through peaceful woodlands and pockets of open farmland. Before long, we reach McEwen — a friendly railroad town that greets travelers with its charming town square and intersection with TN-231. McEwen is a good place to stretch your legs or grab a snack if you’re making a leisurely trip of it.
Continuing west, the route shifts slightly southwest, leading us into Waverly, best known to country music fans as the hometown of Loretta Lynn. If you have time, a quick detour south of town will take you to her famed ranch and event venue, which draws visitors from all over. Back on Highway 70, we cross TN-13 right in the heart of Waverly before heading through a few more tiny communities — Denver and New Johnsonville — where local life revolves around the river and rail. Speaking of rivers, it’s not long before we cross the wide Tennessee River itself, a highlight of this drive and a clear marker that we’re transitioning from Middle Tennessee into West Tennessee.
Past the river, the landscape feels a bit more open and flat as we bend northwest to bypass Camden. U.S. 70 skirts just south of the city, intersecting with U.S. Highway 641, another handy north-south route for travelers in this part of the state. The last leg of our ride carries us west again toward Bruceton, a quiet little community that’s home to friendly faces and convenient fuel stops — which is where we wrap up this stretch, pulling in for a quick break just half a mile into town.
This section of Highway 70 is a fine example of why the Broadway of America name has endured: it’s a well-kept corridor connecting towns big and small, with scenes of woods, farm fields, and gentle Tennessee hills rolling by your windows. Whether you’re tracing local history or just enjoying the drive, it’s a pleasant slice of highway travel that shows off the slower, simpler pace of rural Tennessee.
🗺️ Route Map
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