Devils Triangle, Tennessee | GTAMotorcycle.com

Devils Triangle, Tennessee

shanekingsley

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
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I have been down to the area a few times, but never had the chance to ride the Devils Triangle. I have a lot of good roads to fit into the the 2 days we are down there and am trying to keep my routes closer to the 8-9hr range. My route including the Devils Triangle is a 10+hr day and I really want to keep the other roads on the route (Little River Gorge Rd, Foothills Pkwy, NC281, NC215 & NC28 ).

To ride the Devils Triangle area, it adds 3 hours onto the route - should I give it up to cut the route down, or is it really that worth it and we should ride it?

Here's the Devils Triangle route I had in mind: https://goo.gl/maps/JDE6Z

Here's what I would do without the Devils Triangle: https://goo.gl/maps/JVymI

Thanks for any help!
 
We did most of those roads this year. All of it is really neat in different ways. Here are my comments:

Townsend to Gatlinburg (fighting creek road), runs right along the river. Very very pretty, but very difficult to pass. We were there in July, and you do nothing but sit behind people going 15 miles an hour under the speed limit. Not sure how busy it is late in the season. You need to be a confident passer on this road. The river it follows is fantastically beautiful. Well worth if you are not about speed.

Gatlinburg itself wasn't my cup of tea, much like niagra falls, very touristy. A bit cheasy, very busy. Although the free moonshine tasting was a lot of fun. Just make sure you don't over-indulge if you are riding.

The 441 south of gatlinburg is very nice pavement, and would make an awesome Isle of Mann type stage. Very hilly, great corners, but was nearly a traffic jam in the middle of July since its the main route for most people. You get stuck behind a bus and its game over. Again, very hard to pass, but worth it if you go early/late in the day.

Edit: The road even has a loop-de-loop in it. Best. Design. Ever.

Instead of going across the 19, go south at Cherokee on the 441. Check out the Notorious PIG for bbq. They are located at the Exxon station on the 441 Just south of Dillsboro. Worth the trip. He used to be at KillBoy's shack, but apparently that didn't work out. He has a facebook page listing hours and such. The north half of the 281 (Canada Rd) is one of the best pieces of road in the area. Very quiet, nice tight corners. If you are a track enthusiast, you will like it. Bring some race leathers if you want to ride it appropriately. The bottom half is tar and chip, but too slow/crappy to have a good time on. Make sure you have enough gas.

The south part of the 215, from the 64 to the Blue Ridge is like the Cheroholla, but quiet and a little tighter. There is a mountain climb section right before the BRP if you are riding northward that is sweet switchbacks all the way up the mountain. Nice road. The north part of the 215 (above the BRP) is brand new tar and chip. Very loose, very sketchy and frankly a waste of time. Cut back over the BRP and catch the 74.

The south 28 from Franklin all the way to Fontana Village IMO is the best section of road in the area. Stop by Cafe Rel (weird hours, and super busy so get there right when they open) for some excellent food.

The 64 south from Franklin to Highlands is also really nice, but a bit busier, locals dislike aggressive passing, so pass at your discretion. Some neat waterfalls to check out.

The Foothills parkway is a waste of time IMO, we often see cops there. Need too high of a speed over the limit to make it fun, so take it easy through there.

A bit off course, but we did Wayah Rd. this year. Pretty, but the tar and chip sucks. If you just like the scenery and don't mind a loose surface at spots its nice, but personally I wouldn't ride it again
 
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Thanks for the very detailed reply. I've been on all the roads there many times except the Devils Triangle so debating if it's worth the ride out there. We're all confident riders too. We are riding the area on weekdays which will help for traffic. I really like that stretch east of Townsend along the river - definitely one of my favourite sections and very little traffic on weekdays.
My favourite roads on this route also are NC281 and NC28. We're only going on Wayah Rd to check out a special road off it I didn't put on the route.

Thanks for heads up about the north section of the 215. I was on it last year and the year before and it was great then.

We are riding down... I should post all the routes for feedback:)
Thanks again!
 
really Great write up!

Does the road really have a loop de loop?

I see it has a couple of switch backs....


smergy said:
We did most of those roads this year. All of it is really neat in different ways. Here are my comments:

Townsend to Gatlinburg (fighting creek road), runs right along the river. Very very pretty, but very difficult to pass. We were there in July, and you do nothing but sit behind people going 15 miles an hour under the speed limit. Not sure how busy it is late in the season. You need to be a confident passer on this road. The river it follows is fantastically beautiful. Well worth if you are not about speed.

Gatlinburg itself wasn't my cup of tea, much like niagra falls, very touristy. A bit cheasy, very busy. Although the free moonshine tasting was a lot of fun. Just make sure you don't over-indulge if you are riding.

The 441 south of gatlinburg is very nice pavement, and would make an awesome Isle of Mann type stage. Very hilly, great corners, but was nearly a traffic jam in the middle of July since its the main route for most people. You get stuck behind a bus and its game over. Again, very hard to pass, but worth it if you go early/late in the day.

Edit: The road even has a loop-de-loop in it. Best. Design. Ever.

Instead of going across the 19, go south at Cherokee on the 441. Check out the Notorious PIG for bbq. They are located at the Exxon station on the 441 Just south of Dillsboro. Worth the trip. He used to be at KillBoy's shack, but apparently that didn't work out. He has a facebook page listing hours and such. The north half of the 281 (Canada Rd) is one of the best pieces of road in the area. Very quiet, nice tight corners. If you are a track enthusiast, you will like it. Bring some race leathers if you want to ride it appropriately. The bottom half is tar and chip, but too slow/crappy to have a good time on. Make sure you have enough gas.

The south part of the 215, from the 64 to the Blue Ridge is like the Cheroholla, but quiet and a little tighter. There is a mountain climb section right before the BRP if you are riding northward that is sweet switchbacks all the way up the mountain. Nice road. The north part of the 215 (above the BRP) is brand new tar and chip. Very loose, very sketchy and frankly a waste of time. Cut back over the BRP and catch the 74.

The south 28 from Franklin all the way to Fontana Village IMO is the best section of road in the area. Stop by Cafe Rel (weird hours, and super busy so get there right when they open) for some excellent food.

The 64 south from Franklin to Highlands is also really nice, but a bit busier, locals dislike aggressive passing, so pass at your discretion. Some neat waterfalls to check out.

The Foothills parkway is a waste of time IMO, we often see cops there. Need too high of a speed over the limit to make it fun, so take it easy through there.

A bit off course, but we did Wayah Rd. this year. Pretty, but the tar and chip sucks. If you just like the scenery and don't mind a loose surface at spots its nice, but personally I wouldn't ride it again
Click to expand...
 
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A note on the passing. We go with a group of track riders where there was a lot of trust between the riders. 4 or less bikes is ideal in a group or it becomes hard to stay together. If you are a more "enthusiastic" rider, sitting behind idiot harley trains going 10 miles under the speed limit swerving all over the road is not our thing. Locals in these parts generally clip along pretty good.

My point is, it was useful to have a communication system where a rider in front could signal a rider behind to allow passes to be lined up. Of course it is ultimately up to the rider behind to pass safely, but if you trust the other riders it works well. The passing window can be very short, so horsepower and spacial awareness is useful. Of course this requires a great deal of trust in your companions and I am not suggesting you learn how to pass or ride aggressively on these roads. Make no mistake, we've seen our share of crashes in these parts. It's all fun and games, until things get real.

The only thing I would add is make sure you have sufficient medical insurance, i.e. medivac, prolonged hospital stay, etc. coverage. Helicopter pickups in the US are expensive. You can be the best rider in the world, but there are a lot of ppl on these roads that are not. Sport riders, cars and harleys alike.
 
Shane I'm good with not doing the triangle, I actually hate that road 116 area to the west and have had guys go down every time we do it. It's rough and uneven with blind hairpins that force cars into your lane.
That road drops about 1000' in a mile and it's so tight you almost have to come to a complete stop.
Plus it's a haul to get there from the gap, let's definitely do that road I told you about ;).
 
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As for passing - I have a pretty low tolerance for people moving way below the speed limit, but we are all competent riders who ride within our limits. When it's safe to pass we pass - when it's not we don't take the unnecessary risk. We all have helmet comms as well and they will come in handy no doubt. All I need to remind me of the lack of skills on these roads is to see a few pics on the Killboy Failure thread over on ADV of the meany reasons to never ride all out and always have room for more braking or changing of a line.

As for Devils Triangle, I've taken it out. Here's the new routes so if anyone is bored and wants to find flaws in these - be my guest - the criticism is helpful! I've tried to make them on well paved roads only. If anyone else ever heads down this way and wants gpx files of these let me know and I would be happy to pass them on after we ride them and vouch for their amazingness. Distances and times are close approximates.

Day 2: https://goo.gl/maps/M0obi Bridgeport WV to Boone NC via US19, VA16, US421, US321 - 8hrs/625km

Day 3: https://goo.gl/maps/Mhwcn Boone NC to Dragons Rest Cabins via US221, TN143, NC 80, 226A, 151 & BRP - 8hrs/475km

Day 4: https://goo.gl/maps/Gc9YK - Dragon, Little River, Foothills Pkwy, NC 215, 281 Loop - 6.5hrs/425km

Day 5: https://goo.gl/maps/5ln7k - Cherohala, Dragon, Fontana 28 & Wayah Loop - 5.5hrs/350km

Day 6: https://goo.gl/maps/juVln - Dragons Rest Cabins to Boone NC via NC 281, BRP, NC 80, NC226A - 8hrs/430km

Day 7: https://goo.gl/maps/5CtNQ - Boone NC to Bridgeport, WV via US421, NC 311 US219 - 8hrs/660km
 
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routes all look pretty nice. Consider adding a day of rest/rain day in there thought. Doing these roads at a decent pace is fairly taxing. Go for a dip in fontana lake (you can jump off the end of the dock right at the marina). This year we did a sunset river cruise, basically 1.5h they drive you around in a pontoon and give you some of the history of the area. Nice clear water. Bring a cooler full of drinks and food, it was a good time. $20/pp, but book a day ahead. Nothing up front, just pay when you get there (weather dependent on if they go).

Between tapoco lodge (about 2-3 miles down the road towards Wheelers), they have a nice new paved parking and access section to the river. If its hot, go for a dip in the rapids, its a lot of fun.

Only thing I would change is instead of heading south at tellico plains after the Cheroholla, head back through the forest again. The road south from tellico plains isn't that interesting. The Cheroholla is such a blast.
 
We have a buffer day built into the trip just in case we need a break or for any other reason.

As for going back along the Cherohala - that's a good idea. The only reason I have us heading south is to hit the North Georgia roads which are pretty sweet too. However, it would be pretty neat to spend a day riding back and forth along the Cherohala non-stop.

I've never been down to Fontana lake to swim, nor have I been down to the river near Tapoco Lodge - the pontoon thing at sunset sounds really nice too. Thanks!

Schrader: Looking forward to riding again with you;) It's gonna be a blast.
 
meme said:
http://www.421thesnake.com/

Dunno if this was on your agenda but a must if you are down there. We usually spend a couple days in Deals then move to play around the 421
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Thanks - yes we are going to run it 3x and there is a good store in the valley there to get swag.
 
Did "The Rattler" in the spring, never heard of it before and found it by accident funny enough avoiding an accident lol.
I have it saved on my gps shane I'll check the routes and see if we are in the area ;)
 
I've done it before too - if you guys want to do it, I can make it work and add it in. We will definitely be very close to it, so no worries.

edit: Day 3 can now look like this - only about 20 minutes longer than before - https://goo.gl/maps/FKFJT

New route:
Day 3: https://goo.gl/maps/FKFJT - dropped most of the BRP and NC151 and NC197 from the route

Old route:
Day 3: https://goo.gl/maps/5fguX Boone NC to Dragons Rest Cabins via US221, TN143, NC 80, 226A, 197, 151 BRP - 8.5hrs/500km

Take your pick...
 
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