Blue Ridge Parkway NC - recommendations

[Kirk007]

I'm going to have a few days between business meetings, as well as a conference this Fall in this region. Conference is in Little Switzerland and I need to scout out the venue so this will be a destination next month. Driving south though and wondering best place(s) for two days riding. Thinking Boone, Linville, Little Switzerland all look like possibilities. Recommendations for road rides? Ride the Parkway, side roads (NC 226A?), both?

Thanks!

[Ralph]

Shucks.....just stay at Little Switzerland. Ride in a different direction every day. If....you can get a room there.

[FlashUNC]

Late in the year, but if you can ride Beech Mtn, do it.

[danielpack22@ma]

+1

My wife and I have done this several times and have always had a wonderful trip.
Make sure to bring good visibility gear.


Shucks.....just stay at Little Switzerland. Ride in a different direction every day. If....you can get a room there.

[Plum Hill]

Shucks.....just stay at Little Switzerland. Ride in a different direction every day. If....you can get a room there.

Ditto.
Little Swizerland is beautiful.
Stay on the Parkway. You can end up with some huge climbs if you decide to head off the ridge.

[weisan]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=75111

[rnhood]

Riding the Parkway in both directions from Little Switz is Ok, and heading south you can even climb Mt Mitchell. A couple more very nice rides are the Burnsville metric route (http://www.burnsvillemetric.com/RouteMap.html), and Roan Mtn.

Burnsville is a pretty flat for a mountain ride, and the scenery - the Cane and Tow Rivers in particular - are absolutely gorgeous. Hwy 19 heading back to Burnsville is a bit of a pain with traffic but you're not on it for long. Park in downtown Burnsville anywhere around the circle.

With regards to Roan, drive to Bakersville and park at the fire station, then ride up Roan mountain (261) to Carvers Gap or the Roan visitor center and back. Carvers Gap is about 600 feet or so below the visitor center. Roan is a great climb and the view is beautiful. Its among the 6k' club in NC (as is Mt. Mitchell). Both these routes are better than riding immediately around Little Switz imho. They are popular on the cycling scene there and, they involve far less traffic.

[kramnnim]

226A was recently paved and is glorious, my favorite descent around. 226 is not good, though...

[k-mac]

+1 for Roan Mountain.

[Kirk007]

Thanks everyone! Great info.

[benc]

I believe EBaumann is riding there now. Hopefully we'll get a full report.

[redir]

I thought Roan was in TN?

Being from Washington I would recommend that you climb Mitchell. Then you can at least say you were on the highest peak in the Eastern US. Plus it's a really nice ride. Little Switzerland is in a great location, not sure how far it is from Mitchell by bike but if you drive out to the Folk Art Center and park you can do an out and back rite up to Mitchell and it's a perfect 100k ride.

[rnhood]

Roan mtn is often associated with TN because the Park is on the TN side (and its a very nice state park). But the TN/NC border runs across the top of Roan, with the Appalachian trail. This crossing and border is actually at Carvers Gap, which is a few hundred feet below the visitor center at the top. Both Mitchell and Roan are beautiful mountains, with excellent vistas from the top, and only a couple hundred feet different in absolute elevation. You tend to see more hikers, blueberry and wildflower picking, etc on Roan as its a bit more accessible, for lack of a better word. I think Roan is a much better mountain to climb on a bike, though Mitchell is more nostalgic - since it is the highest mtn in the east. And the descent on the NC side of Roan is among the best descents in NC, imho. You don't have to brake much like you do coming down Mitchell. The combination of grade and easy swaying turns makes for a more pleasurable descent.

[Lovetoclimb]

Shoot me a PM when you are closer to coming in. I live in Black Mountain and have ridden to and around Little Switzerland many times. Some amazing gravel and paved roads that go up and down from the BRP. Depending on time of year and days of the week the BRP can be all kinds of annoying with traffic, but that is a much less traveled section than anything nearer Asheville. Recommend bringing low gears, wide tires, and lots of kit for changing weather conditions.

[572cv]

Stayed at Switzerland Hotel last night. Really nice place. We biked in from Volunteer Gap VA, around Grandfather Mtn. It was a great ride. Rode today south to Pisgah Lodge, around Mt Mitchell, which was too cold, windy and socked in for the climb. Also a great ride. As others have said, you could have two great out and backs in either direction just staying on the BRP. The pavement and road geometry are both terrific. Have fun!

[emckee1]

I'll be riding that area this weekend - have a small farmhouse between Burnsville and Spruce Pine. Roan is a great climb from either the TN or NC side. The Roan Moan is a good route. Other organized rides in the area with published cue sheets are: 1) Burnsville Metric - the flatest ride you can find in these parts, 2) Blood Sweat and Gears - lots of climbing, 3) Beech Mt Metric - rode this one last weekend, nice 3 mile kicker at the end, 4) The Grizzly Bear - around Linville/Grandfather Mt.

If you have a cross/gravel bike, there are miles of unpaved roads with little to no traffic.

PM me closer to your trip. Would love to get together for a ride if it works out.

[djg]

I'm more familiar with the area around Balsam and Waynesville -- plenty of good riding there, including some nice long climbs toward the end of the parkway (for instance, up to Waterrock Knob). Nice rides around Asheville too.

[kramnnim]

I'll be riding that area this weekend - have a small farmhouse between Burnsville and Spruce Pine. Roan is a great climb from either the TN or NC side. The Roan Moan is a good route. Other organized rides in the area with published cue sheets are: 1) Burnsville Metric - the flatest ride you can find in these parts, 2) Blood Sweat and Gears - lots of climbing, 3) Beech Mt Metric - rode this one last weekend, nice 3 mile kicker at the end, 4) The Grizzly Bear - around Linville/Grandfather Mt.

If you have a cross/gravel bike, there are miles of unpaved roads with little to no traffic.

PM me closer to your trip. Would love to get together for a ride if it works out.

Do you have a route planned? Planning to head up there on Saturday, weather forecast looks very nice.

[Kirk007]

Thanks for all the suggestions and offers everyone. I'm headed that way on 6/13 & 14; route and itinerary still a work in progress.

[eBAUMANN]

Currently staying in west Asheville, rode out to Mt. Mitchell Tuesday and Mt. Pisgah yesterday, both were excellent rides with amazing road conditions. Traffic during the week is pretty light, particularly at higher elevations, never really noticed the car factor.

Here are the 2 routes we did out of Asheville, got a little lost/screwed on account of the biltmore estate yesterday, ran into 2 closed gates, a mildly annoying end to an otherwise gorgeous ride.

https://www.strava.com/activities/307883362
https://www.strava.com/activities/309112988

Either way, my take away from this trip so far is that it's pretty hard to miss around here, tons of great climbs and smooth pavement!

[Lovetoclimb]

Currently staying in west Asheville, rode out to Mt. Mitchell Tuesday and Mt. Pisgah yesterday, both were excellent rides with amazing road conditions. Traffic during the week is pretty light, particularly at higher elevations, never really noticed the car factor.

Here are the 2 routes we did out of Asheville, got a little lost/screwed on account of the biltmore estate yesterday, ran into 2 closed gates, a mildly annoying end to an otherwise gorgeous ride.

https://www.strava.com/activities/307883362
https://www.strava.com/activities/309112988

Either way, my take away from this trip so far is that it's pretty hard to miss around here, tons of great climbs and smooth pavement!

Whoa, when worlds collide! EB, I was the guy outside of Mamacitas the other day who randomly approached your group. (that sounds weird reading it back....)