After hearing of several wrecks this weekend I decided I’d better make another run out to NC 215 near the Blue Ridge Parkway to check the status of the road work. The photo shows the current state – a new coat of gravel.
Best Motorcycle Rides in NC – NC 215; This rider made the right choice for him, hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fresh gravel on NC 215 at this stage of the repaving, it will get better soon.
If you like drifting your motorcycle and power sliding through turns, it doesn’t get much better than this. A topcoat of gravel over s smooth hard base makes for ideal conditions. I had a blast!
Most riders though are going to find this the worst of conditions, and for now you’d better avoid it until the next phase of roadwork is completed. I’ll keep and eye on it and let you know when it improves.
Best Motorcycle Rides North Carolina – Paving on NC 215 has started from the top down. You can see one lane done here, still a way to go.
ADD – Looks like US 276 is done, nice pavement, but still no road markings. Read More about what’s going on here – http://smokymountainrider.com/?p=5031
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
Best Motorcycle Rides in North Carolina – Short and Sweet
Great Motorcycle Rides in North Carolina – short and sweet map shows a collection of roads in close to Waynesville and Maggie Valley so you’re never far from home
Not every great motorcycle ride in North Carolina has to be an epic adventure. Sometimes you just want a nice, easy, short cruise to add at the end of a day or squeeze in once a shower passes.
If you’re in Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton, out at the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground, or anywhere else in the vicinity, here’s a collection of roads that not only keep you close in to town, but are excellent motorcycle rides and scenic to boot. You don’t have to go far to find a great motorcycle ride in the Smoky Mountains.
Best motorcycle rides in North Carolina – Ratcliff Cove view – Not only are these roads twisty and fun, they have wonderful views along the ride
Start at Highway 23 / 74 Exit 104 at Junaluska. Follow 4 lane US 23 (Asheville Highway) into Waynesvillle, then exit town on US 276. Follow Raccon Road to Ratcliff Cove Road then on to Stamey Cove Road. Follow NC 215 through Canton to Thickety Road. Take Hyder Mountain Road to NC 209 and return to start.
33 miles – 1 1/2 Hours – an Easy Ride
Route:
Start at Exit 104 Highway 23 / 74 at Junaluska.
Turn right @ traffic light towards Waynesville. Continue through traffic circle.
2.7 mi Continue straight @ traffic light onto Walnut Street. Junction US 23 and Walnut Street.
3.1 miTurn left @ traffic light onto US 276 (Russ Avenue). Junction Walnut Street and US 276 (Russ Avenue). Head downtown.
3.3 miTurn Right @traffic light. Junction US 276 (Russ Ave) and US 23 (Main Street). Pass through Waynesville.
3.7 miTurn left @ traffic light onto US 276. Junction Main Street and US 276 south.
5.5 miTurn left @ junction with Raccoon Road.
6.9 miTurn right @ junction with Ratcliff Cove Road.
Great Motorcycle Rides North Carolina – The Rattler Motorcycle Map
Great Motorcycle Rides in North Carolina - NC 209, a.k.a. "The Rattler". Do it as an out-and-back or make a nice loop ride - one of many ways to go on this great biker road
You’ve already tasted the Tail of the Dragon (if it didn’t take a bite out of you), and probably enjoyed the sweet curves of the Cherohala Skyway.
By now you realize there must be a ton of biker roads out there – “So, WHAT’S NEXT?”
Great Motorcycle Rides in North Carolina - NC 209, a.k.a. "The Rattler" - This is some of the best motorcycle riding you'll find in the world. These riders are looping back to NC 209 on NC 63.
Not one, but two motorcycle rides immediately spring to mind, so I flipped a coin. The Rattler won.
For years, this great motorcycle ride was well known amongst locals (and those in-the-know) as “209” or “Hot Springs”. It’s one of the default, always-good motorcycle rides that you can do over and over again and enjoy it every time. A few years back, it got named “The Rattler“. I don’t know who started that, but it stuck, and you can buy T-shirts along the route – I guess it’s official.
The Rattler motorcycle ride takes you on a 30+ mile jaunt through the mountains and valleys north of Maggie Valley and Waynesville to the tiny town of Hot Springs near the Tennessee border.
Great Motorcycle Rides North Carolina - The Rattler; Nice valley rides coursing along rushing streams, climbs over several mountain passes, and tight-tight twists as you approach Hot Springs
It’s a great “lunch ride” or “afternoon spin” as it only takes an hour or less to ride the twisty two lane. It’s also a “warm up” for those motorcycle touring fans who really know the area.
One you get to Hot Springs, you are surrounded with good motorcycle roads to choose from if you know where they hide.
Great Motorcycle Rides in North Carolina - NC 209 The Rattler - pastoral views of mountain farms and creeks, winding passes through forests, and some of the most challenging tarmac you'll ride wait for you in North Carolina on The Ratterl
Ride Guide – 36 miles to Hot Springs – About 1 hour ride to hot springs.
98 miles to do loop ride shown – 1/2 day ride.
Route:
Start:Exit 104 on Highway US 74. Lowes store at this exit. Pass under US 74. Follow NC 209 north.
3.7 miCross I-40 at Exit 24. It’s an easy ride through the valleys for a few miles.
11.9 mi Turn Right onto Betsy’s Creek Road to continue on NC 209. Ferguson’s store / gas marks this corner. Lots of signs.
22 mi Junction NC 63. Note and pass through. – Store and gas at this junction. Popular spot for a break, loop returns here.
36.6 mi NC 209 ends at Hot Springs. Return as you came or continue on loop ride.
To continue on loop ride –
Pass through Hot Springs. Cross the French Broad River and follow US 25 for 5 miles. US 25 will reach a stop sign.
41.7 mi Turn right @ stop sign to continue on US 25 / 70 towards Asheville.
50.9 miVeer right into Marshall on Main Street. Follow into town.
61.6 miTurn right at the traffic light in the center of Marshall and cross the bridge over the French Broad River.
You are now on Bailey Branch Rd. It will become Meadows Town Road. Meadows Town Road ends in 10 miles at NC 63.
71.5 miTurn Right @ stop sign and follow NC 63 to return to the mid point of NC 209.
85.5 miTurn left @ stop sign onto NC 209 and follow back to Junaluska to finish the ride.
98.4 mi End of ride
Here’s a 10 minute video that takes you through the ride step-by-step
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
Fun motorcycle rides in Georgia GA 348 – a couple of the riders who tagged along on the Fun Ride out of The Lodge at Copperhead
A couple photos from the last “fun ride” out of The Lodge at Copperhead in Blairsville. The Lodge at Copperhead is the southern gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the fantastic riding begins at their doorstep.
Fun Motorcycle Rides in Georgia – getting ready to head out with half a dozen bikes to ride the back roads of Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
Fun Motorcycle Rides in Georgia – Get a free map of The Gauntlet at the Biker Barn on US 129 near Blairsville.
Get your free map at the Biker Barn and get the most out of your ride!
“Fun Rides” are free, just a chance to get out with others and ride some of the best roads in the area. No guides, no rules, they happen on the fly and are usually full of adventures. I always try to throw in a few roads you might never see otherwise.
Fun Motorcycle Rides in Georgia – Helen, Georgia, a German Alps themed town, is a popular stop for both bikers and the masses of other tourists
Fun Motorcycle Rides in Georgia – The Lodge at Copperhead
Next fun ride will be in Maggie Valley or Asheville, NC – I’m making arrangements now. Sign up for the short monthly newsletter if you want to know about the next opportunity. Use this link to sign up now – http://americaridesmaps.com/signupform.html
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
The last place I want to be riding a motorcycle is the 4-lane highway when there are so many good 2 lane back roads in North Carolina.
Turn off the highway onto Candlestick Lane
For most motorcycle riders, covering the distance between Waynesville and Sylva means a relatively pleasant ride on four lane divided NC Highway 74 (The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway). As far as highways go, it is a nice ride winding down from Balsam Mountain and it rarely gets enough traffic to be annoying.
Lately though, I’ve been covering the relatively short distance on a few nice little back roads which I’ve grown very fond of. Since so many motorcycle touring riders pass through and stay in this area, I think they should know about them. If you’re riding near Cherokee, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, or Sylva, these roads may come in handy.
Next turn onto Cabin Flats Road.
Both ends meet the Highway (US 74). The Waynesville end starts near the Blue Ridge Parkway Exit for Waynesville (MP 443.1) where it intersects US 74. Pass under the parkway then exit left onto Candlestick Lane. It’s an obvious intersection, well marked, look for the signs to Balsam, Balsam Mountain Inn, Moonshine Creek Campground.
Candlestick Circle is just a short loop off the highway, turn right onto Cabin Flats Rd. Cabin Flats Road winds along the railroad tracks a short distance, then makes a hairpin turn across them. Balsam Mountain Inn sits on the hill above.
The Balsam Mountain Inn – historic, good food
It’s been a long while side I last visited, but the historic inn (1905) is both scenic and the food used to be very, very, good. You can imagine it’s heyday when it was a stop on the tracks in the middle of nowhere.
Cabin Flats Road will morph into Dark Ridge Road and start a twisting course alongside a stream through the mountain passes. The railroad also follows this narrow valley and you’ll often see it off in the woods crossing the stream on bridges and trestles.
Dark Ridge Road – more fun than the 4 lane
Dark Ridge Road, the railroad, the highway, and the stream cross each other several times on the way to Sylva in a twisted mountain mess. You go under the highway, under the railroad, over the stream several times on the ride.
Dark Ridge Road meets Skyland Road at a stop sign just after you cross the railroad tracks. Turn left (the road quickly peters out if you go right).
Under the tracks on Skyland Rd
The first part of Skyland Road is nice and there are several good spots to stop and get a look at the now rushing whitewater stream.
The second half looses it’s appeal as it draws near Sylva and the suburbs of the town. You can follow the road all the way into Sylva. You may note the prominent fork right onto Chipper Curve Rd – it will bring you closer to downtown.
Whitewater Creek along Skyland Rd
You can hop on-off this ride at 2 points and get back on the highway. One of them is obvious, a mile or so after you get on Skyland Rd. The other, Steeple Road, is closer to Sylva and is the best way to get back on the highway without going into town. Precision Cycles and a BP station mark it at the highway.
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
View of Hookers Gap Road - uphill section which leads from Newfound Road.
Hookers Gap Road is a secret little motorcycle ride near Asheville, North carolina, only a handful of motorcycle riders know about.
Excellent pavement, non-stop back-to-back curves, and an occasional views of the Smoky Mountains and valleys make it a ride any biker would love, but few ever discover. Shame – it’s really useful.
NC 151 – (also known as “The Devil’s Drop”) – Descends from the Blue Ridge Parkway through a steep section of tight hairpin curves that is cherished for the challenge. Some people rave about this road, but I can’t give it a red “best road” rating on my America Rides Maps. The twisty section is good, but too short. Most of NC 151 rolls across open valley with average views. It ends when it meets US 19 and the suburbs.
Newfound Road – Newfound Road runs from Canton to Leicester. It’s a popular ride that courses through long open valleys with a short but tight curvy section in the middle. It’s a good ride, views are mostly average. On my America Rides Maps Newfound Road does not get any favorable rating.
The west end of Hookers Gap Road is the best.
Newfound Road gets a lot of motorcycle traffic as it connects to NC 63 in Leicester. To the east, NC 63 leads into Asheville, but many riders go west on NC 63. Within a few miles, the road starts a climb to the top of a mountain that winds through a tight series of switchback curves. The long descent down the west side of the mountain leads to a junction with NC 209 (a.k.a. “The Rattler”) near the midpoint of it’s run to Hot Springs or Junaluska at Trust.
Description:
A motorcycle ride on Hookers Gap Road is most easily navigated from the south end. Come down NC 151 from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the traffic light at the junction with US 19. Continue through the traffic light on Dogwood Road. Follow west then veer left onto Pole Creek Road. It will become Hookers Gap Road. It ends at Newfound Road. Distance: 7.4 miles.
To find Hookers Gap Road from Newfound Road, watch for the “+” (crossroad) sign on the north side of the curvy section of Newfound Road. There is no sign for Hookers Gap Road, but there is one across the street for Morgan Branch Road, the western continuation of Hookers Gap Road from Newfound Road.
Section of America Rides Maps shows Hookers Gap Rd.
Hookers Gap Road keeps you out of the congestion and traffic on I-40 and busy US 19 and it’s one of the most challenging rides in the area.
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
Wayne is an advanced motorcycle instructor for Total Rider Tech teaching Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Rider Courses. It’s time you looked into advanced rider training to ride more confidently and safely, it will change your mountain riding experience. It worked so well for me I became an instructor! Total Rider Tech
