World’s Largest Yard Sale

We went on the World’s Largest Yard Sale, also known as the 127 Sale. It covers 690 miles from Alabama to Michigan and it’s SO MUCH FUN and filled with great deals. Here’s a recap from my 2018 trip. point of beginning of world's longest outdoor sale august 2nd thru 5th

Have y’all ever heard of the World’s Largest Yard Sale?

It covers 690 miles from Gadsden, Alabama to Addison, Michigan & happens once a year, every year. I’ve always wanted to check it out and this year, I did.

world's largest yard sale route map

Myself, along with my 17 year old daughter & 8 year old son, decided that we were going to give it a run & I can’t wait to go back again next year.

This was our first year, so we were newbies to the scene but we learned a lot that we will apply to next year’s trip & got us some good deals along the way too. The yard sale spans such a long distance, so I was totally unsure of where to start and where to end – so I winged it. But next year, I will definitely be doing a few things differently.

Mrs Happy Homemaker and kids on the world's longest yard sale

The Route

We live in North Georgia, so we ultimately decided to drive to Crossville, TN and work our way back down south to Gadsden, Alabama.

I had heard that Crossville was a huge destination in the 127 yard sale, and that was 100% accurate. Crossville was a meca for the yard sales & it was PACKED! Both full of sellers & full of shoppers. There were several ‘tent cities’ full of venders lining both sides of the road throughout the Highway 127 stretch thru Crossville. Like 100 vendors or more in 1 single area. It was insane!

When you are doing the World’s Largest Yard Sale, you aren’t walking the entire thing. If that was the case, medical personnel would be coming to take my pitiful overheated self away by mile 2. You basically just follow the route & there are yard sales all down the 690 mile stretch. Sometimes there is 30 miles between sales, sometimes there is a few feet. Some are huge, as in there are 100+ vendors at them. And some are small… just 1 or 2 folks set up in their yard. There are also countless yard sales set up in the neighborhoods off of Highway 127. Folks who have done this before tell me that’s where you find the best deals, down in the neighborhood yard sales right off of highway 127, but honestly – I was pretty overwhelmed with what was on 127 that I didn’t vear off any (unless you count the many times I got lost in Alabama lol). It took us an entire day to cover Crossville because there were just SO many giant yard sales there – the kinds where a whole green space was filled with over 100 sellers. We probably could have spent some more time there shopping if we wanted to. It was crazy!

world's longest yard sale

world's largest yard sale

world's largest yard sale

world's largest yard sale

My favorite part of the stretch was from Crossville, TN to Signal Mountain, TN.  There were SO many sales in that area.

There was something for everyone. Someone was even selling a turquoise coffin at one – LOL.

world's largest yard sale

The traffic was a bit cumbersome as folks were driving real slow, trying to get a good look at the merchandise without getting out of their cars (which was pretty much impossible!) & folks trying to find somewhere to park their car so they could shop for a bit. Some yard sales were just a few families in their yard or a gas station, and some were massive with over 100 different vendors in one large green space. The massive ones were definitely my favorite. More square feet of shopping for the cumbersome parking situations! haha

The deals were mixed. Some folks were super high, some folks were super low. Some folks were right in the middle. It’s definitely a picker’s paradise, that’s for sure.

After we departed Signal Mountain and headed South into Georgia & Alabama, I was a bit disappointed. Ok, it was more than. a bit. I was a lot disappointed.

world's largest yard sale

It was a rainy weekend, so I will give it that – but the yard sales started to be few & far in between and we didn’t find any more ‘tent cities’ like we had found and loved in Tennessee. Also, the prices started to get way higher as we went South from Signal Mountain. I expected to find a whole bunch of giant sales in Gadsden since it was supposed to be the start of it all, but I didn’t see much of anything compared to what I had experienced in Tennessee for the most part. And what I did find was mostly overpriced. Mentone, Alabama was a pretty nice stop, however. It was had a large amount of vendors set up there and the town was super cute too.

Roadside find tip: As you are leaving Signal Mountain on 127, keep your eyes peeled for large cave on the righthand side. Pull over & take a quick exploration – it’s so cool!

cave hidden behind bushes

Once you are on Highway 127 in Signal Mountain & headed North, you stay on the same road. But when you leave Signal Mountain and head for the sales in Georgia & Alabama, you have to leave that route since that highway doesn’t go that far South. This can get very confusing – trust me! You have to follow the directions on their website, which I apparently sucked at. I got turned around more than just a couple times. For me and my kids, we all agreed that the amount of time we spent looking for the ‘right route’ along with the low amount of yard sales we were finding – it just wasn’t worth the time, effort, or gas. Next time, my plan is to start off in Signal Mountain, TN and work my way north. How far I get is how far I get.

kids with umbrella hats

blue haired girl carrying a box

My daughter carrying an old wooden box that we scored for $3!

The Goods

We found a good bit of treasures during our trip on the World’s Largest Yard Sale.

Some of them I’m going to keep, and some of them I’m going (attempt) to resell in an antique booth that I’m working on opening up. I paid next to nothing for some of the things that you see! One of my favorites is the antique firehose reel from the an actual fire department in the 1930s. I’m a pretty mean negotiator and talked the guy down from $45 to $25. Within 5 minutes, I was stopped by an older gentleman who offered me $5o for it right then… but I kindly refused his offer. I think that’s quite a find to be honest with y’all.

various antiques in the grass

The old cardboard box that says ‘Beautiful Writing Set’ was a yard sale find by my 17 year old. It’s a calligraphy set from the 60’s – and as bad as the box looks, the inside is pristine. Everything is still wrapped in plastic & brand new. She loves calligraphy so she was stoked to find it. Even more stoked that it was only $3.

The old red candy machine is from the Tennessee Dept of Revenue & is a penny candy machine. I got it for $20.

various antiques

Is it at all evident that I collect both Dukes of Hazzard & Lady and the Tramp stuff? haha

I seriously adore them both. It’s the only two things that I collect. My kids call my collections my shrines…. but whatever. 😉 I found some pretty cool things to add to my shrine/collection regardless.

Sadly, no one was selling John Schneider. 

world's largest yard sale

dukes of hazard collectibles

See the old cap gun below? $5! This particular one is worth about $100 in good shape. The shape mine is in – worth more like $50… but still a good find nonetheless. That was a find by my 8 year old – typical boy yard sale find! The old cat pics were $0.25. Cast iron kettle & bread pan for $5. Super old Jello Cookbook – $0.25. The Pillsbury salt & pepper shakers were $5. Just a few to share!

various antiques

Even found me a new purse! I love Fossil purses and I happened to find these in two separate yard sales for great prices. The purse was $8 and the wallet was $5 – and yes, they are both ‘authentic’. Definite score for all my fellow purse lovers will understand my excitement on.

I love purses. No matter how many French fries & Reeces’s cups that I consume, they always still fit.

fossil purse and wallet

My Tips 

This might have been my first time, but I definitely learned a few things that I will be applying my next time around.

  • Book hotels well in advance & keep an eye out for hotel deals on sites like Expedia or Priceline. The closer to the 127 sale, the faster they will fill up and the higher the prices will be. I booked my first room several months in advance & only paid $47 for the night and it was a nice hotel. I decided to wing it the next day and just grab a room close to wherever I was at. BAD IDEA. I paid $100 for a room, and it was not nearly as nice as the one I had the night before. And I was lucky to get that room! Most hotels were booked at this point.
  • If you have an RV or camper, can I have it please? lol All silliness aside, that’s definitely the route to go for lodging if you’re able to. There are campgrounds all over the route that have fair pricing.
  • Even though the yard sale technically starts on a Thursday, many vendors will be set up several days before… as early as the Monday before. It doesn’t hurt to be the early bird!
  • I will be starting in Signal Mountain, TN next time & headed North through Crossville, TN. I hope to make it to at least Lawrenceburg, KY. The stretch through Signal Mountain to Lawrenceburg, KY was mentioned to me several times by many of the folk who I met that do this sale yearly.
  • Negotiate prices! Always offer less than what they are asking! You can also always get a better deal if you bundle items from the same dealer. You’d be so surprised by the deals you can score this way.
  • These two sites may help out a bit with planning – 127yardsale.com127sale.com

dog wearing sunglasses in a wagon

Things to bring

  • Cash – lots of $1 & $5 bills. Make a stop at the bank first and make sure you stock up on your small bills. The vendors will love you for it too!
  • A wagon that’s easy to pull to carry all your finds. Or a 17 year old with a healthy back.
  • Tons of cold water in a cooler. And snacks. Sandwiches in a cooler would be a good idea too!
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat, sunglasses, sunviser
  • Umbrella in case it rains or for shade
  • Rainboots in case it rains. These are big giant farm fields most the time that the sales are held in & you will be so glad you have these if you need them
  • extra clean socks
  • baby wipes
  • printable route maps

homemade ice cream being sold out of a vintage fire truck

And had to mention these two…

While we were pulling out of one of the many yard sales we had stopped at, my kids and I spotted two young males with a ton of hiking gear on. They were leaving the yard sale on foot, and I got curious. I thought they might be walking the entire yard sale, so I rolled down my car window & asked before I left.

two hikers with hiking gear

The two young men were Pete Miljevic and Tyler Bidwell – and they were not walking the entire 127 yard sale. They were serving a much larger purpose and I just had to quickly mention them & what they’re doing before I closed out this article.

They were on a hike from Maryland to California, a 3,300 mile long journey, to raise awareness & funds for the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

a picture of a newspaper clipping about a pair walking to support CRF

I just thought that it was such a heartwarming thing for these two young men to be doing, so I just had to mention it.

You can check out their facebook page, from Cecil to California, here.

Have you been on the World’s Largest Yard Sale before?

Are you planning on going next year?

I’d love to hear from you – leave me a comment!