Riding Around Maggie Valley, NC

[Jwwr]

I left right after work. It's too far to get Maggie Valley in the afternoon , so I got a room in Etowah, Tn.  I'll head over to Tellico in Morning and ride the Cherohala Skyway.

Loaded up



Made it to Etowah before the sun went down.




Thursday morning I loaded up and rode to Tellico and then up the Cherohala Skyway. I started the skyway about 8:30am. Had a car free run all the way to Joyce Kilmer.







Lots of wild flowers blooming of all different colors. The butterflies were all on these flowers.



Took Joyce Kilmer over to 129. This a fun road even if it's a little rough.



Got behind this guy on 129. His tag frame read "Busa Down Patrol". I bet @klaviator knows who this is.



Good crowd at Deals Gap.

[Jwwr]

I headed up Foothills Parkway. My destination was Look Rock Tower. This is a lot like Clingman's Dome, but without the crowds. It's a short hike up. The path is paved.



It's steeper than it looks



The tower







360 degree views

[klaviator]

That's probably Bar None on ADV

[Jwwr]

I rode Foothills Parkway to its end in Townsend. I decided to ride through Smoky Mountains National Park to get to Cherokee and then take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Maggie Valley. The Park is really pretty and the road is curvy, but there are too many cars, It's a slow sight seeing pace.













The elk were out near Oconaluftee visitor center.





I went to check the fields behind the visitor center and spotted a coyote.



And a few Big Toms.





It's a short trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Maggie Valley.





Thats it for Thursday. Friday I ride to Mt. Mitchell.

[Jwwr]

The road to Mt. Mitchell is off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, so I'll have to be on it at some point. I decided to go North of Mt. Mitchell then down to the parkway and take it back to Maggie Valley. 209 "The Rattler" seemed like a good place to start.








Passed through Luck on the way to Trust.



In Trust I turned on 63, I had never ridden this road before, but I have seen some pictures of it on here recently!  :D







It was Sandy Mush then Meadow Town that got me to Marshall.





Jupiter Road to 197. 197 starts out as a good sized hwy then turns to dirt in Pisgah NF then back to a small twisty paved road.

The dirt section.



Back to pavement and down the mountain. I think there are about 6 switch backs in this photo.  There would be several more. A really fun road!



Down in the valley



I took 19E and planned on going down 80, but missed my turn. Ended up going down 226 to the Parkway.


Mt. Mitchell was up in the clouds, so no really great views. At least it was nice and cool!









I took the Parkway all the way back to Maggie Valley, there were several sections where they had resurfaced the road and had left a lot of loose stone. Signs warned it was not safe for motorcycles or bicycles. I stopped for the obligatory photo at the highest point.



Hen and poults on the Parkway. They were well above 3000' feet elevation may have been over 4000'. I have no clue if thats normal or not, but it seemed odd to me.



A little better shot of the poults, in the bottom right corner.






That's it for Friday.

[JBMFT]

Great report. As someone who has ridden these roads MANY times, I am enjoying your coverage.

[Fencejumper09]

Looks like a fun trip! Thanks for sharing!

[Nice Goat]

Awesome photos and commentary!

[BamaPhill]

Nice, thanks for sharing!

[Jwwr]

Saturday was a loop down 276 then back up 215.

Looking Glass Falls on 276. The mist made it hard to get a good picture.



215 is fun road.






Later that evening I rode up to Water Rock Knob to watch the sunset. There was a big thunderstrom moving in that blocked the view right before dark, but there were a few breaks in the clouds.

[BamaPhill]

Cool sunset shot!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[Jwwr]

Sunday I headed home. Might as well take the Blue Ridge Parkway over to Cherokee to see if there is any wildlife.

This guy was acting like the boss. The others didn't seem too impressed. These turkeys act like they own the place.




More elk.




It was 58 degrees and foggy on the Cherohala.


Crossing the Tennessee River. I dodged rain the rest of the way home, never needed the rain gear.




Thats all I got. Thanks for looking!

[Jwwr]

Cool sunset shot!

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Thanks, My photo does not do it justice! If you ever have the chance to see it in person, I strongly suggest you do. 

[TWJohn]

Thanks for the pictures. Looked like a great weekend.