SR201 begins at an intersection with SR136 in Villanow. It heads north-northeast, through portions of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, until it enters Whitfield County. The highway continues to the north-northeast, and travels through the unincorporated community of Mt. Vernon. Shortly afterward, SR201 travels past the western edge of Rocky Face. There, it intersects US41/US76/SR3 (Chattanooga Road), and the four highways travel concurrently north to Tunnel Hill, where SR201 departs to the northeast, while US41/US76/SR3 continue on Chattanooga Road. Just past the northeastern edge of Tunnel Hill is an interchange with Interstate75 (I-75; Larry McDonald Memorial Highway). SR201 continues heading northeast until it meets its northern terminus, an intersection with SR2 in Varnell.
SR201 is not part of the National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
History
The roadway that would eventually become SR201 was established between 1926 and the end of 1929 as part of SR2, but on a slightly different path, from Villanow to Dalton. The next year, this segment's northern end was shifted to the northwest to travel from Villanow to US41/SR3 in Tunnel Hill. Its southern part was under construction. By the end of 1931, the southern part had completed grading, but no surface course, while the northern part was under construction. In February 1932, the southern end was shifted slightly to the west. In July of the next year, this entire segment of SR2 had a "sand clay or top soil" surface. Around the middle of 1934, the entire segment had a "completed semi hard surface". At the beginning of 1940, SR158 was established from US41/SR3 in Tunnel Hill to SR71 in Varnell. Later that year, the Whitfield County portion of the Villanow–Tunnel Hill segment of SR2 had a "completed hard surface". At the end of 1941, the entire length of SR158 was redesignated as part of SR201. By the end of 1946, SR2 in Tunnel Hill was shifted back to Dalton, with the entire segment from Villanow to Dalton hard surfaced. By the beginning of 1948, all of SR201 at the time, except for its northern terminus, had a "sand clay, top soil, or stabilized earth" surface. Its northern terminus was hard surfaced. The next year, SR2 was shifted north. Its segment northeast of Villanow was redesignated as a southern extension of SR201. The highway's northern segment was replaced by SR2's new routing, thereby truncating it to the western part of Varnell. In 1953, the segment from Tunnel Hill–Varnell was hard surfaced.
12State Highway Department of Georgia (July 1, 1941). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
12State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1, 1942). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (October 1926). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (October 1929). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (June 1930). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
12State Highway Department of Georgia (November 1930). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1932). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (February 1932). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (March 1932). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (July 1933). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (August 1933). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (April–May 1934). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (October 1, 1934). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1, 1940). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
12State Highway Department of Georgia (April 1, 1940). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (October 1, 1940). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1, 1945). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
12State Highway Department of Georgia (1946). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017. (Corrected to November 7, 1946.)
12State Highway Department of Georgia (1948). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017. (Corrected to February 28, 1948.)
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (1949). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. OCLC5673161. Retrieved March 28, 2017. (Corrected to April 1, 1949.)
↑State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1, 1953). System of State Roads(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved March 28, 2017. (Corrected to January 1, 1953.)