Heading to the Dragon down the Blue Ridge Parkway second week of July . | GTAMotorcycle.com

Heading to the Dragon down the Blue Ridge Parkway second week of July .

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Heading to the Dragon down the Blue Ridge Parkway second week of July .

Any suggestions where to stay ( hotel,motel or BB) or what to see along the way .

Tips and suggestion welcome .

I have a 6-7 day to get there and back .
 
Just returned on Friday, but lots of info in this section including Shane's great ride report http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?178018-Ride-Report-Smoky-Mountains

We were 7 days on the road and another would have been better. Enjoy the roads down and back and the roads get better as you head south of NY and PA. WV, VA, NC and TN have great roads and even the ones that look straight on the map are not.

Boone TN was one of the better towns we stayed in as it offered good restaurants and better accommodation and was very close to the BRP.

The southern end of the BRP is the best part of it. Us 221 from Boone and then BRP to Little Switzerland was an excellent road as was 421 from Bristol to Boone. The link above includes maps and lots of information.

Enjoy
 
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Just returned on Friday, but lots of info in this section including Shane's great ride report http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?178018-Ride-Report-Smoky-Mountains

We were 7 days on the road and another would have been better. Enjoy the roads down and back and the roads get better as you head south of NY and PA. WV, VA, NC and TN have great roads and even the ones that look straight on the map are not.

Boone TN was one of the better towns we stayed in as it offered good restaurants and better accommodation and was very close to the BRP.

The southern end of the BRP is the best part of it. Us 221 from Boone and then BRP to Little Switzerland was an excellent road as was 421 from Bristol to Boone. The link above includes maps and lots of information.

Enjoy


Thanks .
 
If you have 7 days, here's what I've done.

Day 1 - Superslab to Front Royal. Lots of cheap motel options there.
Day 2, 3, 4 - ride down Skyline drive and the BRP. Stop wherever you like - stay on the road. Lots of places to stay just off the parkway. Couple of places I'd make sure to hit are Grandfather Mountain, Roanoke Mountain and Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley. End up at the end of day 4 at Two Wheeled Inn in Robbinsville. If you wanted, or weather isn't good, you can always duck off the BRP and take the superslab.
Day 5 - Ride Dragon / Cherohala / Moonshiner 28. Spend a second night at TWI -make sure you bring booze, it's a dry county
Day 6, 7 - superslab back to Toronto.
 
We rode brp few weeks ago and there was tons of fog/clouds in some areas. Eventually we gave up and took lower roads.
 
We rode brp few weeks ago and there was tons of fog/clouds in some areas. Eventually we gave up and took lower roads.
Once I was riding the BRP while it was super foggy and I went a round a bend and saw a bear and her cubs staring at me on my bike. I disappeared into the fog.

Another great place to stay along the middle of the BRP is Willville Bike Camp which has a chalet or two with covered bike parking. Lots of maps, free breakfast (I think) and the host is very knowledgeable about the area.

Another good place is the Two Sisters Chalet - right at the western edge of 129 near the base of the Foothills Pkwy. Great place, awesome hosts and amazing location.

I also prefer to ride the BRP heading north so the sun isn't in my eyes and take other mixed elevation roads heading south.
 
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We are heading down on the same week as you are. Leaving on July 12 and we budget two days to get there. Will ride through Pa and VA for the first day. Part of Blue Ridge on the 2nd day and then get to Robbinsville in the late afternoon or evening. Stay for 4 days in Robbinsville and work our way back on Friday. Be home on Saturday.



Heading to the Dragon down the Blue Ridge Parkway second week of July .

Any suggestions where to stay ( hotel,motel or BB) or what to see along the way .

Tips and suggestion welcome .

I have a 6-7 day to get there and back .
 
I am planning to head down there on July 18, looking at doing the trip in around 10 days or so.

We are heading down on the same week as you are. Leaving on July 12 and we budget two days to get there. Will ride through Pa and VA for the first day. Part of Blue Ridge on the 2nd day and then get to Robbinsville in the late afternoon or evening. Stay for 4 days in Robbinsville and work our way back on Friday. Be home on Saturday.
 
Thanks for the suggestions .
 
Day 5 - Ride Dragon / Cherohala / Moonshiner 28. Spend a second night at TWI -make sure you bring booze, it's a dry county

This dry county business is in one area I hope ? I enjoy my lager at the end of the day on my vacation .
 
Just noticed this thread now. Wanted to mention Sylva, NC - thought it was neat. Stayed at the Blue Ridge Inn, not sure if I would recommend it or not (at least it was cheap lol). Sylva wasn't dry at least, I definitely remember having a beer there
 
The Fontana Inn by Fontana Dam is a gorgeous resort on Hwy 28 near the Cross Roads. They serve alcohol and have a general store which sells beer. The Dragon Beer sold in the area is fortified with moonshine 7% or 10% alcohol iirc.


My suggestion is to slab it down there in a day or two so that you have more time to check out the local roads down there.

The BRP is so convoluted that it actually takes a lot of time to cover any real distance on the map....also full of slow moving tourists and cops. But a gorgeous piece of road nonetheless
 
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US219 will get you there quickly and is a lot of fun in many spots. Be sure to ride "Back of the Dragon" as well.
 
I've taken US219 down and back the last few years. Last year was the first time I actually got on the road when I planned to, met up with another rider at Timmies at the entrance to 219 at 7am or so and road it all the way down and arrived in Rich creek VA while it was still light out lol.

I'm going down in a few weeks, for the yearly Katriders Rally, I am so looking forward to it.
 
How are the accommodations around the dragon ?
 
I stayed at Fontana Village back in 05 lol, it was mid renovation so my review would be way out of date lol. Since 06 or 07 we've been renting all 3 houses at the tree tops http://www.thetreetops.com/ . Definitely something to consider when going down as a group. This year my accommodations are costing me under $200 for the week while at the Gap, plus where ever I stay on the way down and back.

I went down a few years ago in October for a few days and the bunkhouse option at the Iron horse lodge is cheap as long as you don't mind that sort of sleeping arrangement.
 

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