Alabama state line to McMinnville SR 56 begins as a secondary state route at the
Alabama state line south of
Sherwood in
Franklin County, (as a two-lane) where the road continues south as
Alabama State Route 117 into
Jackson County, Alabama. SR 56 continues northward to the Crow Creek Valley, which is full of farmland, and passes through Sherwood before the highway becomes very curvy as it ascends into the
Cumberland Plateau, passing through the Sherwood Forest, Carter State Natural Area, and Sewanee Natural Bridge portions of
South Cumberland State Park. SR 56 then enters
Sewanee to become concurrent with
US 41A/
SR 15. The highway then turns east and becomes an unsigned primary highway. They have a junction with
SR 156 in
Saint Andrews before continuing to an interchange with
I-24/
US 64 (Exit 134) and entering
Monteagle. They then have an intersection with
US 41/
SR 2, where both US 41A and SR 15 end and the roadway is taken over by US 41/SR 2, with SR 56 becoming concurrent with them as they enter downtown, straddling the line with
Marion and
Grundy Counties. After passing through downtown, they come to an intersection where SR 2 splits from US 41/SR 56, through it is unsigned, and US 41/SR 56 then continue east and leave Monteagle. They continue through countryside, passing by
South Cumberland State Park visitor center and Grundy Forest State Natural Area portions of the park, before entering
Tracy City, where SR 56 splits from US 41 to turn northward from Marion County into Grundy County, while US 41 turns south along unsigned
SR 150. SR 56 continues north as a signed primary highway and passes through countryside and the community of
Coalmont before becoming concurrent with
SR 108 before entering
Altamont. They enter downtown and have an intersection with
SR 50 before SR 108 splits off and turns east. SR 56 continues north, where it has an intersection with Greeter Falls Road (which provides access to the Greeter Falls portion of
Savage Gulf State Park), and passes through
Beersheba Springs, where it has an intersection with Stone Door Road (which leads to the Stone Door portion of Savage Gulf State Park), before becoming curvy again as it descends the plateau before traveling up a narrow valley, where it passes through
Irving College and runs parallel to the
Collins River, before crossing into
Warren County. SR 56 then continues on through farmland before entering into the city of
McMinnville.
McMinnville to Silver Point SR 56 traverses the center of the city of McMinnville. It enters the city at the intersection with
SR 127. It then proceeds north through a neighborhood before having a Y-Intersection with
SR 8, before becoming E Colville Street and passing through a major business district and crossing a bridge over the
Barren Fork River. It then curves to the west and has an intersection with
SR 380 (Main Street), just before entering downtown and coming to an intersection with
SR 55 Bus (Chancery Street). SR 56 then turns north again along Chancery Street straight through the middle of downtown before having another intersection with SR 380 and widening a four-lane undivided highway (Smithville Highway) to leave downtown and run through a major business district. It then has an intersection with
US 70S/
SR 1 (Bobby Ray Memorial Parkway) before narrowing to two lanes and leaving McMinnville. SR 56 continues north through farmland to have an intersection with
SR 287 before crossing into
DeKalb County. SR 56 proceeds northward to have an intersection with
SR 288 before entering
Smithville to an intersection with
US 70/
SR 26. It then has an intersection with
SR 83 near
Smithville Municipal Airport before leaving Smithville to enter mountains, and become curvy again, and cross into
Putnam County. SR 56 continues north zig-zagging and crisscrossing atop various mountains and ridges before crossing a bridge over
Center Hill Lake. It then continues through the mountains before entering
Silver Point to have an intersection with
SR 141 before becoming concurrent with
I-40 at Exit 273.
Interstate 40 to Whitleyville SR 56
runs concurrently with I-40 between exits 273 and 280. Old Baxter Road, the original SR 56 alignment from Silver Point to
Baxter closely follows the Interstate. After the junction with
US 70N/
SR 24, SR 56 continues northward through farmland and
Bloomington Springs into
Jackson County. The highway then has an intersection and short concurrency with
SR 290 in
Center Grove before passing through some mountains and entering the town of
Gainesboro. In downtown, SR 56 becomes concurrent with
SR 53, and the two go north to the banks of the
Cumberland River, where SR 53 splits from SR 56. SR 56 then becomes concurrent with
SR 85 and
SR 135 before crossing the river to leave Gainesboro. They continue through countryside to
Jennings Creek, where SR 85 splits off, before heading on to
Whitleyville, where SR 135 splits off via a Y-Intersection. The route from I-40 to Gainesboro is known to residents of the Upper Cumberland as part of the Corridor J-1 project of the
Appalachian Development Highway System, a unit of the
Appalachian Regional Commission.
North Springs to the Kentucky state line SR 56 turns westward to meet
SR 151 at
North Springs, where SR 56 becomes a secondary route, enters
Macon County, and makes a right turn to the north at the junction of
SR 80 and
SR 262 at
Willette. SR 56 becomes primary again as the highway then enters farmland again and continues north to an intersection with
SR 52 before entering
Red Boiling Springs. It then continues into downtown to have another intersection with SR 151 before leaving Red Boiling Springs to continue north through farmland to end at the
Kentucky state line. Upon reaching the Kentucky state line, the road continues as
Kentucky Route 63 about south of
Gamaliel.
Additional facts about the route SR 56's entire course from Altamont to Gainesboro is a part of the
Tennessee Scenic Parkway system. ==Former alignments==