Ohio Thoughts: The World's Longest Yard Sale

The 127 Yard Sale

The weather has been in the '60s here in Ohio and spring is in the air so yep, I'm daydreaming about gardening and yard sales!!

The World's Longest Yard Sale is also known as The 127 Yard Sale or The 127 Corridor Sale and is a 4-day event every year. The dates are always the first Thursday of the month of August, from Thursday to Sunday. And that's 4 whole days of yard sale heaven!

If you are a yard-saler, antiquer, flea-marketer, thrift store shopper, or anything in-between, you will love this!

The 127 Yard Sale covers 690 miles of sales, through six states, from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama, and boasts thousands of vendors every year.

And it's even been featured on HGTV!

History Of the 127 Yard Sale:

This original fantastic idea came from a Tennessee county executive named Mike Walker and was established in 1987. When it began, the sale route was much smaller and only followed US 127 from Covington, Kentucky, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

But by 2012, the 127 Yard Sale route had extended all the way to the north of Addison, Michigan, totaling an approximate end-to-end distance of 690 miles.

There are numerous farm fields full of vendors along the route

My husband and I have been doing the 127 Yard Sale for only a few years and really enjoy it. Some years my daughter and her boyfriend join us too. It's always more fun to go with friends or relatives to share the excitement of finding great deals. And believe me, there are some great finds, good deals and treasures but also lots of junk. But isn't that why we do it, for the hunt??
So far, we have driven through Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky, going in a different direction each year.

It's a lot of walking so wear your most comfortable shoes!

Whole entire towns set up for the sale so you can park and just walk up and down main street (and some side streets too) for the sales.

Many farms rent out large fields for multiple vendors to set up.

And flea markets along the route are open with tons of vendors.

And they're usually community groups like churches or boy and girl scouts set up along the route selling homemade food, cookies, and drinks, etc.

Tips and Suggestions:

We learned our lesson on our maiden trip, so now we book a hotel or campsite for stopping for the night. We then usually drive until exhausted the second day and drive home.
You may not be able to even find a hotel room or campground space available, so plan your route and book ahead.

Make sure to bring a large enough vehicle to haul all your finds! We ended up strapping a commercial grade stainless steel table (we bought 2) and a king oak bed to the top of our van the first year because the van was so stuffed. We've taken our pick-up the last couple of years.

I strongly advise taking a cooler with ice, water, and drinks, lots of snacks, your cell and charger (you'll want to text everyone about the treasures you find!), and an overnight bag. There are diners and restaurants in the larger towns but they're usually really crowded so bring sandwiches or other food.

Now that's a lot of yard sales!!

It's also very warm in August especially in the southern states so make sure to drink plenty of fluids, dress in cool loose clothing, and rest when possible.

And take lots of cash. Cash because these are yard sales, no one takes cards unless it's a store.

Yardsaling can be hot, dusty, and sweaty so bring along a pack of disposable wipes. You'll thank me.

We bring along cloth bags, cardboard boxes, or a tote or two to put small items in so they don't slide around in the car. Books are always on my list and those end up everywhere if not in a container.

And again, just to remind you, all hotels are full. You may not be able to find a room so plan your route and book ahead.

There is a printable checklist of things to take with you: Checklist

And here's a website for Lookout Mountian, where the 127 Yard Sale first began.

Don't think you have to do the entire route. We usually don't even go 100 miles in one day, there are so many sales it's impossible to stop at them all and get very far. Yes, there's that many.

Me on the left with the hubby and our cousin

Some of our finds are antiques, metal signs, an adjustable dress form for my craft room for $13.00
and a vintage receiver for $5.00 for my husband's mancave and his rock and roll music. (Yes, that's my handsome hubby)