Trip from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN

Drive Time

8h 30m

Distance

463.3 mi

746 km

Drive Score

7/10

Good drive

Same Day?

2-day trip

Fuel Cost

$70

one way

EV Charging

station data

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 23 min

4 AM

8h 22m ★

6 AM

8h 30m

8 AM

8h 45m

10 AM

8h 35m

12 PM

8h 34m

3 PM

8h 36m

5 PM

8h 45m

8 PM

8h 26m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Best Time Drive vs Fly

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Johnson City, TN

Kelly

Union City, TN

Kelly

Trip Overview

The drive from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN covers 463.3 miles and takes about 8h 30m behind the wheel. It usually feels better as a 2-day road trip than as one long push.

The route leans on Buffalo Street, North Roan Street, East Watauga Avenue for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $70.37 one way before food or hotel costs.

Trip Pace

Best split across 2 days

Treat the return leg as its own travel day rather than an afterthought.

Break Rhythm

2 planned breaks

Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.

Midpoint

231.6 miles from Johnson City, TN

A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 4h 15m into the drive .

Drive Character

Expect a 8h 30m drive with frequent turns across 463.3 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.

There are about 32 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.

Buffalo Street is one of the defining roads on this drive.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way.

Route Complexity 4/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

The route itself is not hard, but at 8h 30m, endurance matters. Plan breaks every 2-3 hours. The 0 decision points are all manageable with basic attention.

Where does it get tricky?

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road	Distance	Duration
Buffalo Street	Unavailable	Refreshing
North Roan Street	Unavailable	Refreshing
East Watauga Avenue	Unavailable	Refreshing
Oak Street	Unavailable	Refreshing
James H	Unavailable	Refreshing
I 81 South	Unavailable	Refreshing
I 40 West	Unavailable	Refreshing
Nashville	Unavailable	Refreshing

Per-road distance and duration are being refreshed from OSRM for this route.

Longest stretch: Buffalo Street — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Johnson City, TN and Union City, TN.

Start on the route

433 ft · 35 sec · the route

Turn left onto Buffalo Street

0.3 mi · 56 sec · Buffalo Street

Turn left onto North Roan Street

0.3 mi · 37 sec · North Roan Street

Turn right onto East Watauga Avenue

0.3 mi · 45 sec · East Watauga Avenue

Turn left onto Oak Street

443 ft · 11 sec · Oak Street

Take the ramp straight

0.2 mi · 24 sec

Merge slight left onto James H. Quillen Parkway

14 mi · 16 min · James H. Quillen Parkway

Take the exit slight right toward I 81 South: Knoxville

0.2 mi · 38 sec · I 81 South: Knoxville

Merge slight left

56 mi · 1 hr

Continue on I 40 West: Knoxville

0.7 mi · 45 sec · I 40 West: Knoxville

Merge slight left

53 mi · 59 min

Keep slight right to continue on Nashville

155 mi · 2 hr 46 min · Nashville

Keep slight right to continue on I 24 West, I 40 West: Nashville

2.1 mi · 3 min · I 24 West, I 40 West: Nashville

Keep slight right to continue on I 24 West: Clarksville, Louisville

0.3 mi · 28 sec · I 24 West: Clarksville, Louisville

Merge slight left onto Downtown Loop

2.3 mi · 3 min · Downtown Loop

Continue on I 24 West, I 65 North: Clarksville, Louisville

2.1 mi · 2 min · I 24 West, I 65 North: Clarksville, Louisville

Take the exit slight left toward I 24 West: Clarksville

113 mi · 2 hr 1 min · I 24 West: Clarksville

Keep slight left

52 mi · 55 min

Take the exit slight right toward Union City, Memphis

0.2 mi · 25 sec · Union City, Memphis

Keep slight left to continue on Martin

190 ft · 6 sec · Martin

Turn right

479 ft · 6 sec

Continue straight

4.8 mi · 5 min

Take the exit slight right toward Union City, Troy

0.6 mi · 55 sec · Union City, Troy

Continue straight

4.0 mi · 4 min

Turn left onto North Clover Street

1.0 mi · 1 min · North Clover Street

Turn right onto East Cheatham Street

0.4 mi · 47 sec · East Cheatham Street

Turn left onto North Division Street

0.5 mi · 51 sec · North Division Street

At the end of the road, turn right onto East Main Street

0.2 mi · 26 sec · East Main Street

At the end of the road, turn left onto East Main Street

118 ft · 3 sec · East Main Street

Turn straight onto South 1st Street

463 ft · 23 sec · South 1st Street

Turn left onto East Church Street

75 ft · 3 sec · East Church Street

Arrive at your destination

Trip Plan

Morning Departure

Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.

Evening Departure

This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.

This drive is better paced as a 2-day trip.

Plan roughly 2 meaningful breaks for fuel, food, and rest.

The halfway point lands around 231.6 miles from Johnson City, TN, or about 4h 15m into the drive.

Consider an overnight stop or starting very early.

Departure

Before you leave

Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.

First stop

Around 102 miles or 1h 52m in

Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.

Halfway reset

Around 231.6 miles or 4h 15m in

This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.

Overnight split

Day 1 wrap after about 231.6 miles or 4h 15m

Stop before fatigue turns the last few hours into a grind. You want day two to start fresh, not just resumed.

Final approach

Final hour starts around 7h 24m

Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Union City, TN than in the middle of the route.

Before You Leave

Open the route before leaving Johnson City, TN so your first major turns are already loaded.

Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.

Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.

Pick one backup stop option before the midpoint in case traffic changes your pacing.

Treat this as a 2-day road trip and book the overnight stop before the busiest arrival window.

Day 1

Settle into the route from Johnson City, TN

Aim for roughly 232 miles and 4.3 hours of wheel time on this day.

Day 2

Finish the approach into Union City, TN

Aim for roughly 232 miles and 4.3 hours of wheel time on this day.

Your first comfortable stop window is around 102 miles from Johnson City, TN.

This route usually feels better as a 2-day drive than as one long push.

Plan about 2 real breaks rather than only quick fuel stops.

Where to Stop

Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.

Halfway Point

Midpoint

About 231.6 mi from Johnson City, TN · 4h 15m into the drive

Mid-route town

Overnight candidate

Hendersonville, TN

232 mi into the route

Best for: Hotel check-in, dinner, and a fresh start

This lines up well with a realistic day-end stop if you are breaking the drive into stages.

Find hotels in Hendersonville, TN

Overnight Options

Night 1

Hendersonville, TN

232 mi · about 4.3h in

A practical overnight split lands near Hendersonville, TN after about 232 miles or 4.3 hours of driving.

Find hotels

Pacing Suggestions

Knoxville, TN

Fuel and coffee

A short stop after about 102 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.

Hendersonville, TN

Meal break

The midpoint is around 231.6 miles from Johnson City, TN, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.

Overnight split

Hotel stop

For a steadier pace, wrap day one after about 232 miles or 4.3 hours on the road.

Arriving in Union City, TN

The final approach into Union City, TN usually feels slower than the middle of the drive, so avoid planning your tightest schedule at the very end.

Try to arrive with enough fuel left to skip an immediate station stop unless you already know the area around Union City, TN.

On a multi-day trip, keep the last day a little lighter so you reach Union City, TN with some flexibility left in the schedule.

These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$70.37 one way

$140.74 round trip

$3.86/gal 25.4 MPG avg 162 kg CO₂

Fuel Type	$/gal	One Way	Round Trip
midgrade	$4.25	$77.58	$155.15
premium	$4.80	$87.46	$174.92
diesel	$5.64	$102.93	$205.86

No toll roads detected on this route.

Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)

Fuel

$70

Hotel (1n)

$80–$140

Meals

$50–$100

Total

$200–$310

Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.

Estimated CO2 emission: 162.1 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-06.

Driving Electric?

About $49 in charging · 1 stop · 67% less CO₂

Vehicle Type	kWh	Stops	DC Fast	Home Charge
Average EV	139	1	$48.65	$22.24
Efficient EV	115.8	1	$40.54	$18.53
EV Truck/SUV	185.3	2	$64.86	$29.65

Gas CO2

162 kg

EV CO2

54 kg (67% less)

Plan for 1 charging stop. A 30-minute DC fast charge mid-route should be enough to complete the trip comfortably.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast data refreshed 3 days ago

Origin

Johnson City, TN

Night in Johnson City on Sunday

Local time

9:47 PM

EDT

Current temp

57°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Union City, TN

Evening in Union City on Sunday

Local time

8:47 PM

CDT

Current temp

61°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Seasonal Notes

Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.

Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.

Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.

For long drives, weather on day two can matter just as much as conditions at departure, so check the whole travel window rather than only the first day.

Time zone

1 hour earlier

The destination clock does not match departure time, so double-check hotel check-in windows and late arrival plans.

Temperature spread

4 degrees warmer at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

8h 30m on the road

This is long enough that the arrival forecast matters almost as much as departure conditions. Recheck both ends before you roll.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN covers 463.3 miles and takes about 8h 30m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Buffalo Street, North Roan Street, East Watauga Avenue. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

Consider an overnight stop or starting very early.

Yes. This route is usually more comfortable as a 2-day drive. A sensible stopping point is after roughly 232 miles on day one.

The midpoint is about 231.6 miles from Johnson City, TN. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $70.37 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.

Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour. This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.

Plan about 2 meaningful breaks for fuel, food, or rest. Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.

The route itself is not hard, but at 8h 30m, endurance matters. Plan breaks every 2-3 hours. The 0 decision points are all manageable with basic attention.

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

The route from Johnson City, TN to Union City, TN does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.