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The Skyline Inn, Little Switzerland, NC

Located right at the start of the Diamondback Motorcycle Ride, the Skyline Village Inn offers a scenic stay, good food, a nice selection of beer and wine, and one of the most unique and historic places to stay on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

First of all, the Skyline Village Inn has a story and it’s a great one. (If you want all the details click here and go the their site in a minute). In a nutshell, the Skyline Village Inn was built as a front to cover up a huge moonshine operation which operated out of secret caverns beneath it. When not brewing corn, they used their free time to do intricate stone and woodwork throughout the building and grounds. Some of the wood inlay work on the tables in the lounge belongs in a museum. They give tours of the moonshiners caverns. I didn’t ask if they still sell “shine”, but the beer and wine on hand is diverse and high quality.

Those moonshiners used 17 kinds of local wood

The building was constructed in the 1930’s and 40’s, before small roadside motels came into vogue, so it has an authentic historic atmosphere that permeates the entire place. Those moonshiners built with quality and it endures.

The Skyline Village Inn sits high atop the ridge with commanding views. You can see the beautiful stone arch where the Blue Ridge Parkway passes over NC 226 down the road at the Spruce Pine exit at milepost 331 from out front of the Inn. The rooms open onto a porch where you can sit to enjoy the view.

Best of all for the motorcycle rider, the Skyline Village Inn sits at the head of the Diamondback Motorcycle Ride, one of North Carolina’s most popular rides. Just roll out of the covered motorcycle parking and you’re on the ride.

Rider nears the top of NC 226. Shot from the overlook across from the Skyline Inn

While the Diamondback is popular, the ride they like to send you on from the Skyline Village Inn is the Murder Mountain Ride. You can do the short version of the Diamondback Loop down 226A then back up 226 in about 45 minutes. The Murder Mountain Ride is much more of a commitment, about 3 1/2 hours minimum, but it includes a traverse of spectacular Roan Mountain and some of the twistiest and most enjoyable roads in North Carolina and a bit of Tennessee. (See Murder Mountain Ride Description / Map here)

A room at the Skyline Inn

If you want to stay somewhere you’ll remember and can tell (good) stories about, consider the Skyline Village Inn on your Blue Ridge Parkway motorcycle ride.

Skyline Village Inn

Murder Mountain Ride

Diamondback Motorcycle Ride

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Wayne Busch – Cartographer

Learn Total Control

– 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

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Yesterday’s explorations north of Asheville brought me back to many familiar roads, several good new ones, and far too many unpaved and unsuitable trails that had to be investigated regardless. With leaf season past its peak thanks to some windy storms, I followed the Blue Ridge Parkway north and paused along the way to see what remains. There’s still some good color down low, but it’s mostly yellows, browns, and gold that hold fast to the branches for another week or so.

Photo - view from the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Black Mountains viewed from the Blue Ridge Parkway between Crabtree Falls and Little Switzerland. Still some leaves giving a last show of color.

Northeast of Spruce Pine, NC, an excellent motorcycle ride can be enjoyed on Penland Road. It diagonals between the the too heavily trafficked US 226 and US19E and is a welcome relief from the four lane bustle. Near the midpoint sits the tiny hamlet of Penland and the ancient Penland Post Office.

The flag was the giveaway the Penland Post Office was still in business. I've passed by many times, today I stopped to visit.

I’d passed by it many times, noting it’s location, but never paying it much attention as it appeared to be abandoned. Yesterday, seeking a spot to stop and consult my map, I found it’s very much alive and functional despite its antique appearance.

A place preserved in time, I had wondered if the Penland Post Office was just another abandoned relic of the past. Hardly the case.

The female postmaster seemed to welcome the intrusion of me poking about, snapping a few photos, and inquiring about the location. She tells it’s slated for restoration thanks to the efforts of the nearby Penland School of Crafts.

I suspect many of these boxes are tended only by ghosts, though it's hardly an isolated area. Generations have lived back in these mountains and continue to do so.

Discovering sights like these is one of the best reasons to get off the Blue Ridge Parkway and explore the wealth of back roads that weave throughout the Smoky Mountains. Were I to photograph and visit all of them I’d get little mapping done. Trust me, there are plenty more awaiting your discovery and the roads and motorcycle rides that lead to them are what keep me going.

While I did see a computer in the back room, I suspect this typewriter and brass scale got just as much use.

The Blue Ridge Parkway projects an image of isolated mountain wilderness that doesn’t truly reflect just how many people have lived adjacent to it since times before there were cars and motorcycles. Think about it – something like popular Mabry Mill on the parkway could never have existed were there not a community that needed and supported it. Many of those communities persist and the roads which connect to and lie nearby the Blue Ridge Parkway are the gateways to discovering them. Discover America Rides Maps and find this wealth of hidden treasures.

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: Wayne Busch – Cartographer

Smoky Mountain Motorcycle Rider

The Best Motorcycle Rides in the Mountains

Tag Archives: spruce pine

Motorcycle Friendly – Skyline Village Inn, Little Switzerland

Skyline Village Inn

Murder Mountain Ride

Diamondback Motorcycle Ride

Sights From the Motorcycle Road – Penland Post Office