I’ve been watching this road for a while. When my friend at Gryphon Bikes informed it the he’d ridden it the other day, I had to go check it out for myself. NC 281 from the junction at US 64 near Lake Toxaway northwards is now completed to the point I’m adding it to the list of great rides.
I discovered NC 281 years ago. This portion of NC 281 runs between US 64 near Cashiers, north until it joins with NC 107 at Tuckasegee. The section around the hoity-toity community of Lake Toxaway has been paved and in use for years. The other end of the road, near Tuckasegee, was improved and widened years ago. It makes a climb through a series of high speed sweeping turns that’s a lot of fun. Once you finish the climb, it starts to descend passing though the tiny mountain town of Wolf Mountain.
From there, the road enters a series of very tight corners, one after another that keep you on the edge of your tires for several miles. Round a curve, climb a bit, crest a hill, and suddenly the pavement ends and you are on a graded forest road, rutted and loose, bumpy, steep, and a challenge on road tires.
So it used to be.A couple years ago, the DOT started improving the road. More and more of it got paved, but one last section remained. It required a small bridge be built to cross a stream and that took forever to complete. When I last passed through, it was so close to being paved I predicted and included that on the map “The Best Rides South of Great Smokey Mountains – EAST”. While the road is still getting some work, the paving is done and it’s rideable, just in time for fall. I’ll be updating that map to reflect the change.
The completion of this road is significant in that it opens up a wealth of loop rides with the surrounding roads in the area. In fact, this may now be one section of my new favorite loop ride which I’ll describe in another post. It’s not for the faint hearted, and if you’re a mid-western cruiser guy who’s gonna freak if the floorboards scrape, this may not be the route for you. However, if you’re looking for something challenging, or confident enough to ride within your limits, add this road to your list of fall rides. You’ll be rewarded with pockets of fall leaf color that are truly spectacular in addition to a ride you’ll remember.
>> Go To America Rides Maps.com – http://americaridesmaps.com