Knoxville and NC area must see spots

kneedraggeroldy

kneedraggeroldy

Well-known member
Ok BARF...wife and I are headed out to TN for tail of the dragon, cherahola skyway, aces and eights and blue ridge parkway to little Switzerland in September.....any ideas on what NOT to miss???? We have been in the area couple times and last time did Klingman's dome hike and rented a slingshot for 24 hours. What a hoot!

We will be renting a BMW for about 5 days but curious for things to see that we might not be aware of IDEAS???? :teeth
 
Surj

Surj

Uneasy Rider
Dollywood. Seriously.

The Dragon is overrated and often overrun with morons in/on all kind of vehicles. I was there during "Minis on the Dragon" one time and these fools were making mid-blind corner u-turns with multiple cars at the same time. No bueno.

If you haven't ridden it, you'll be there so you may as well. It's a fun road, but it's short and pales in comparison to many roads we have here, not to mention further up in California. It's just a little disappointing in that context.

What I did was just look at a map and find stuff that looked good. I ended up doing a lot of quiet two-laners along creeks and such, stopping at places that looked interesting: churches, cemeteries, other old landmarks. It was very enjoyable, but I don't remember the specifics of most of it.

I think you're on the right track with the Blue Ridge, and there are lots of other great roads that lack the marketing of the Dragon.
 
Farmer John

Farmer John

Well-known member
If the weather is crap or you have a bunch of extra time the Barber Museum in Birmingham AL is 4~5 hours SW of Deals.
 
bikewanker

bikewanker

Well-known member
This!

Surj said:
Dollywood. Seriously.

The Dragon is overrated and often overrun with morons in/on all kind of vehicles. I was there during "Minis on the Dragon" one time and these fools were making mid-blind corner u-turns with multiple cars at the same time. No bueno.

If you haven't ridden it, you'll be there so you may as well. It's a fun road, but it's short and pales in comparison to many roads we have here, not to mention further up in California. It's just a little disappointing in that context.

What I did was just look at a map and find stuff that looked good. I ended up doing a lot of quiet two-laners along creeks and such, stopping at places that looked interesting: churches, cemeteries, other old landmarks. It was very enjoyable, but I don't remember the specifics of most of it.

I think you're on the right track with the Blue Ridge, and there are lots of other great roads that lack the marketing of the Dragon.
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I was going to give a typical BARF, no idea what I’m talking about/ innuendo, suggestion of Dollywood but I’ve never been.:rolleyes Squiggles on a map are your friend and years ago I enjoyed the small college town feel of Boone NC. I’ve enjoyed wandering off the Parkway when the speed limit overcomes my patience. Enjoy and report back, it’s been a long time for me and I still entertain a ride to the other coast.
 
Surj

Surj

Uneasy Rider
bikewanker said:
I was going to give a typical BARF, no idea what I’m talking about/ innuendo, suggestion of Dollywood but I’ve never been.:rolleyes Squiggles on a map are your friend and years ago I enjoyed the small college town feel of Boone NC. I’ve enjoyed wandering off the Parkway when the speed limit overcomes my patience. Enjoy and report back, it’s been a long time for me and I still entertain a ride to the other coast.
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Props to you for refraining. :laughing

It's certainly a theme park, and all that goes with that applies. But it's different than Disneyland or whatever, and lots of fun. In my opinion, the Wild Eagle alone is worth going in for.
 
kneedraggeroldy

kneedraggeroldy

Well-known member
Farmer John said:
If the weather is crap or you have a bunch of extra time the Barber Museum in Birmingham AL is 4~5 hours SW of Deals.
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mmmmm...might have to look into this if we have the time. We did go through the wheels in time motorcycle museum last time near Cherokee (happy valley I think....even the wife loved it. Thanks, did not know it was that close
 
doc4216

doc4216

Coastie who high fives
Go to Gatlinburg, TN. Cool town on the border of the Smokey Mtns. You wont regret it.
 
doc4216

doc4216

Coastie who high fives
Surj said:
For a second, I thought you said "cool down" and I was gonna say, "good luck." :laughing

The Ole Smoky Moonshine place in Gatlinburg is cool. Yeah, it's a branded experience, but I don't even drink and I enjoyed checking it out.
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Nope! I know better than to say that in September on the East Coast. Born and raised in PA and 13 years in the SE, there's no cool down until November over there.
 
InsuranceGuy

InsuranceGuy

Well-known member
Wheels Through Time Motorcycle & Car Museum Maggie Valley, NC
Biltmore Estate- Asheville NC
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad steam car Bryson NC
 
sckego

sckego

doesn't like crashing
Vic and I did a trip through there - holy shit, over 10 years ago - that makes me feel old. The Dragon is awesome, totally worth a few trips back and forth. If you find yourself farther into TN, Lynchburg and the Jack Daniels Distillery is worth a tour. Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga is also pretty cool. We also did Hwy 28 all the way through Franklin and Highlands, which was an awesome ride.
 
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kneedraggeroldy

kneedraggeroldy

Well-known member
Kegan , that was a great ride report :thumbup. Will be looking at some of your spots more in depth and try and incorporate. We have been there a couple times and meeting a ride mate there for cherahola and some other roads. Your sense of humor is similar to our so hope we find ourselves in a ride together. :teeth
 
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