Blue ridge roadtrip

[Moose]

My buddy and I are gonna be heading down the blue ridge parkway at the end of the month and I was wondering if you guys have any recommendations on places to stay/camp, things to do along the way, and anything else you can think of for this ride. We're riding the full thing from VA to NC then hitting up the dragon and up to Knoxville before heading home to Baltimore. Any tips or pointers for a long trip are welcome as well. Thanks dudes!

[10scDust]

Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley, NC.

The Devil's Triangle north of Oakridge, TN.

Foothills Parkway from Chillhowee Lake near the Tail of the Dragon to Weirs Valley near Sevierville, TN.

Cherohala Skyway from Robbinsville, NC (near south end of Tail of the Dragon), to Tellico Plains, TN.

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, TN off the Cherohala Skyway.

Ocoee River valley gorge, US64 from NC/TN border towards Benton, TN.

Moonshiner's, NC rte 28 from Dragon through Franklin, NC to Bridal Veil Falls, US64 & NC28.

There is a lot in this area...

[1954bmw]

Better check, I just looked and web page said Wheels Thru Time is temporarily closed.

[Moose]

Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley, NC.

The Devil's Triangle north of Oakridge, TN.

Foothills Parkway from Chillhowee Lake near the Tail of the Dragon to Weirs Valley near Sevierville, TN.

Cherohala Skyway from Robbinsville, NC (near south end of Tail of the Dragon), to Tellico Plains, TN.

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, TN off the Cherohala Skyway.

Ocoee River valley gorge, US64 from NC/TN border towards Benton, TN.

Moonshiner's, NC rte 28 from Dragon through Franklin, NC to Bridal Veil Falls, US64 & NC28.

There is a lot in this area...

Awesome info man, i'll take a look! And thanks for the heads up bmw, i saw that as well.

[Tattooo]

Better check, I just looked and web page said Wheels Thru Time is temporarily closed.

I'll be willing to bet a lot of places will be closed or opened on limited hours............

[Moose]

I'll be willing to bet a lot of places will be closed or opened on limited hours............

yeah but that's fine, we're in it more for the ride/camping. anyone know of any service roads that are accessible for some free camping?

[Tattooo]

yeah but that's fine, we're in it more for the ride/camping. anyone know of any service roads that are accessible for some free camping?

None that I know of............. Be sure and ride 276 and 215 in North and South Carolina......... To me they are better than the Dragon....... The Dragon is just a bunch of hype about nothing..........

[Moose]

None that I know of............. Be sure and ride 276 and 215 in North and South Carolina......... To me they are better than the Dragon....... The Dragon is just a bunch of hype about nothing..........

I'll check those out, thanks!

[10scDust]

yeah but that's fine, we're in it more for the ride/camping. anyone know of any service roads that are accessible for some free camping?

One place I know of...
Going north on US129 from the dragon, take a left on TN72, go to US411 and turn left into Vonore, TN, at the first traffic light after the bridge, turn left on TN360, in about 5 miles you must turn right to follow 360 and cross another bridge over the Little Tennessee River/Tellico Lake reservoir.
Just after this bridge, on the left side after road begins to curve, folks camp there lots of the times, up next to the water, easy to find within 1/4 mile after the bridge.
TN360 will take its end point at the Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains, and is a nice sweep curving ride.

Yes, the dragon gets lots of hype, lots of folks have it on their bucket list too, the problem is at times too many yahoos on their sport bikes try to do that 11 miles in as fast a time they can.
Making dangerous passing on blind curves, lately, sheriff's and state trooper's have been parked awaiting.

IMHO, many of its curves should be done no faster than 20 mph or less, not all, just some.
Drive carefully, do it on a weekday.

as a side note: my previous post were mostly driving routes, of which all those roads are open, I didn't know WTT was closed, but not surprised, and all the restaurant, and pay to camp grounds in Tellico Plains are open for business, I live nearby & travel through there a lot.

[seaking]

First off I would skip Knoxville and head further south to Chattanooga. I've always like that area far better than anything North and the scenery is better. Basically you can't go wrong with NC/TN area and I would blow past everything to get there. It might be cold/rainy enough to say fuck it and truck it down there and camp in the car as a base.

Covid aside the strip club in asheville is supposed to be a good college girl joint, WTT wasn't much but a lot of AMCA frothing from a couple of nerds, it's cool but it's a lot to take in if you've ridden a few hundred miles to get there. Better off getting a good meal and some rest at that point.

FWIW I took route 421 south of Richmond KY--that follows the confederate march route to the battlefield--very Dixie and I'm sure there are similar routes from VA. That was such great riding that I wished to god it would end--300 miles of twisties it was an entire goddamn day well into 11 at night.

Don't FORGET! It gets really, really cold even at 50 in the mountains. Pack rain and heated gear. Hot hands are cheap, hit up walmart before you go. Winter gloves, I like neoprene under winter gloves for heat retention. Change your clothes before bed camping, etc.

[BadMonkeyMW]

There's a great motorcycle only campground near Stecoah, NC called the Kickstand Lodge. I've stayed there several times and the lady that runs the place is a real salt of the earth type. It's also convenient to the Dragon and Cherohola Skyway, so it makes for a nice home base to camp while you ride those two areas. I've ridden all over the Smokey Mountains for years and it's all a great area for two wheels.

[docmel]

Just came from Bryson city, NC over the LD weekend: Everything was open, to include private and fed/state campsites. I stayed at the Microtell there for 3 days, it was cheap, clean, the staff was open and friendly. I agree about the dragons tail: Lotta hype, and frankly, a pain in the ass. Its slow moving, and anything over 30 MPH you will likely highside, and many of the folks that really jam it really dont have the bike or skill to navigate it as fast as they would like.. Saw some cops along the tail. Bring wet wx and warmies, and expect rain. The mountians there get lotsa rain. Enjoy.........

[benjamin11p]

There's a great motorcycle only campground near Stecoah, NC called the Kickstand Lodge. I've stayed there several times and the lady that runs the place is a real salt of the earth type. It's also convenient to the Dragon and Cherohola Skyway, so it makes for a nice home base to camp while you ride those two areas. I've ridden all over the Smokey Mountains for years and it's all a great area for two wheels.

I can totally agree. Smokey Mountains is an awesome area. Before I've done my last bike road trip, I've checked and read a lot of useful articles, where authors were explaining what biker should wear for such trips. One of the most useful what I found were articles with comparison of different bluetooth headsets. I've got 20S EVO headset ( more info can be found here ), because it's way better than another model close to their price level.

[Moose]

Sorry I've been away for a day or so because of work, happy to come back to some great comments! Might make some alterations to the route off of some of these suggestions. I've also read that the dragon can be a real pain, especially on the weekends because of sports bikes/cars going quick. I think we wanted to swing through Knoxville because neither of us have been there and it's kinda on the way back up to Baltimore. But it also might suck due to all the covid restrictions, doubt you can go catch a band or something.

If anyone wants to meet up for a stretch lemme know, would be sweet to meet up with some 33ers.