Travel tips for BlueRidge Parkway NC?

[punji]

Now finalizing a July trip from beginning to end of BlueRidge Parkway -- Cherokee NC to Waynesboro VA and back. The list of gotta-dos and gotta-sees seems a little thin despite all the official guides, etc. Any of you veteran mountain ryders have any suggestions? Two neophyte RT-Ryders are in the convoy and I'd like to melt their eyeballs and overwhelm their senses. Local knowledge is ALWAYS superior to Chamber of Commerce stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Bless you, my friends...


punji

[smoky]

The consumate American motor ride for relaxation, beauty, splendor and plain old fun. Done it a dozen times in last 40 years...everytime is just like the first time. Favorite spots and stops: overlooks out of Cherokee, tunnels and blow the horn. Run your helmet cam through the tunnels. The viaduct at Boone...interesting history. Linville Falls..beautiful side trip. Grandfather Mountian, especially if they're hangliding. All the Parkway souvenir stops. Fancy Gap, VA a favorite local lore and antique interests. The beautiful rolling country side farms and pastures. Check some of my albums. My favorite stop on the Parkway: Mabry Mill, VA especially if it's grinding meal and grits. Any of the campgrounds are fabulous. Late afternoon, deer are everywhere as are spectacular sunsets. In themorning take any busy exit and within two to five miles the best country mountain breakfasts you'll ever get. Now, is that enough to keep you busy?Smoky

[summerdawn]

This is a fantastic ride and the scenery alone will impress anyone. We ride it once a year and I never get tired of it. Plan your hotel stays as there is not always a great variety to choose from. You might make a little side trip to the Biltmore Mansion in Ashville. At the Little Switzerland exit you can get off and ride Rt. 226 known as the Diamondback. It's a nice twisty, little road that bring you near Grandfather Mountain. When you get to Cherokee it's an easy trip to the Cherohala Skyway which is a gorgeous ride any time of the year and cool. You will need rain gear,especially if you ride the Skyline Drive out of Front Royal, Va. A light jacket is useful too. Enjoy yourself!

[captblack]

I highly recommend these maps ...

http://shop.americaridesmaps.com/The...aps-BRPS17.htm

I use mine every time I go up there and always find new wonders to enjoy

[punji]

I knew I could count on you! I'm very familiar with the terrain from Cherokee west to Tennessee, including the Cherohala and the Dragon. But have spent very little time on the twisties east and north of Asheville. We've only got 6 days for a round trip ride. Lodging reservations have been made. The food situation was somewhat worrisome , but you appear to have helped solve that. A gas app should get us from pump to pump, assuming a cell signal, of course.

Wave if you see us . I'll post some pics when we return. Thanks again for the help.

punji

[Oldmanzues]

If you are from Cherokee, I hope you know about Wheels Thrugh Time in Maggie valley. Motorcycle (and some cars) museum. It is right in the middle of town and easy to miss. Lots of old American iron, most all of which run and are rideable. They show them off by doing so.
God and safe riding on your trip
Oldmanzues

[3whlLefty]

The Parkway is a beautiful road but also is the worst ride in my memory because of one thing....FOG! I've ridden thru a snowstorm over Rabbit Ears Pass and a couple inches of hail in New Mexico but that fog was scary. What I didn't expect was that it also fills the tunnels so there was no reprieve. My riding buddy and I ran our turn signals so we could see each other it was so dense. We took the first chance to exit down and out of there and I finally could relax a bit.

That being said, have a wonderful trip!

[punji]

The Parkway is a beautiful road but also is the worst ride in my memory because of one thing....FOG! I've ridden thru a snowstorm over Rabbit Ears Pass and a couple inches of hail in New Mexico but that fog was scary. What I didn't expect was that it also fills the tunnels so there was no reprieve. My riding buddy and I ran our turn signals so we could see each other it was so dense. We took the first chance to exit down and out of there and I finally could relax a bit.

That being said, have a wonderful trip!

----was that? I've got a couple of neophyte ryders with me. Fog would provide very bad memories!

Gonna take that blue highway
And leave this sorry town
Stayed too long, but now I'm gone
And I know where I'm bound
I've had it up to here with worry
From now on I'm in no hurry
Rolling down that blue highway

Neil Diamond/Chet Atkins
Top 10 songs of my life...

punji

[StanProff]

----was that? I've got a couple of neophyte ryders with me. Fog would provide very bad memories!

Gonna take that blue highway
And leave this sorry town
Stayed too long, but now I'm gone
And I know where I'm bound
I've had it up to here with worry
From now on I'm in no hurry
Rolling down that blue highway

Neil Diamond/Chet Atkins
Top 10 songs of my life...

punji

I live one hour from the parkway and have been on it quite a bit. My wife and I just completed the run last week from Cherokee to Waynesboro. Three days pushing it a little the last day. We did stop a lot though. A really good little restuarant worth stopping at is at the Spruce Pine mile marker 331. When you turn off the parkway the Museum of North Carolina Minerals is right there, good stop to check it out. Turn left and in a quarter mile there is a little motel a great place to eat. you can't miss it. Great Views and great food. Also if you are starting the ride in Cherokee be sure and stop at the Parkway Visitors center at Ashville. It is a great visitors center with all the info you will need, somewhere around mile marker 400 I think. I have never ran into the heavy fog, I have always had fairly good weather. Sometimes on the high peaks I have had some fog and rain but it never has lasted long.

[NancysToy]

We rode the entire length last year...including Skyline Drive. Great ride...very scenic and secluded. No traffic during the weekdays. Sometimes gas and lodging are a way off the path...don't cut it too close. Besides the scenic attractions along the pkwy, such as Natural Bridge and Mt. Mitchell, remember the many things close to the BRP and Skyline Drive, such as Jefferson's Monticello, The Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville, Waynesboro, and so forth. There are several travel books on the subject, that cover a myriad of attractions. This is a very historic area, too, if you are interested in such things. Have fun, it is a great journey! We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[bruiser]

We rode part of it last year while at the owners event in Maggie Valley. Plan on doing it again sometime next year. As mentioned, Dale and his crew at Wheels through Time are very accommodating and there are plenty of hotels and resturants there. 209 out of Maggie to Hot Springs is a great ride. Everyone who rides the BRP has their favorite spots, you'll see why. I'd consider carrying an extra gallon of gas though, just in case.

[spyder-dude]

I live in the next town over from waynesboro which is 4 miles east. Let me know when you are planning on doing the ride and maybe we can meet up and I would love to ride back with you to Cherokee from waynesboro.

I have done parts of the blue ridge over the past 4 years but moved to VA last July and absolutely love the area.

You can PM me or email me at spyderdude@me.com and I can also send you my cell phone number. I am actually headed to Gatlinburg, TN tomorrow for a family vacation....to bad I am not taking the spyder though as it is acting up when running hot. Taking to the dealer next week to hopefully get resolved......It started in March when I was at Daytona Bike Week and was told it was the plug wires but after changing them today it didn't fix it.

[mhoecker]

If you want to take a little side trip, consider dropping down to Floyd, VA. Interesting locale with blue grass music and buffalo burgers. Not too far off the parkway.

Madonna

[FrankPa]

Don't Speed...

[Luckyme]

Don't Speed...

This is very true. the Parkway is a wonderful ride, with awesome scenery, relaxing, and a SPEED LIMIT to abide by. Back in 1999, myself and 5 buddies which all ride responsibly were getting on the parkway via a 4 mile long 2 lane road.
A beater pickup with mattresses strapped on pulled out in front of us and drove 15 MPH up the mountain. We carefully passed, even though there were no passing lanes, using our CB's to advise each other it was safe to proceed. We did not speed after passing. We got to the parkway and were met by a Federal Park Police. He signaled us to pull over, and gave us all expensive tickets for passing that truck, which he never saw us pass. The truck was a bait for us to pass, and phoned to the officer waiting when we passed, so he was the witness.
To fight it, the officer told us we would have to come back to that township to court. We all lived in KY, OH, and FL, so that was not going to happen, and he knew that.
Outside of that experience, the Parkway is always a nice ride.
By the way, that was somewhere in VA.