North
Carolina Sport Bike RoadsNorth
Carolina Sport Bike RoadsEditor's note: There is probably no better place in the US (including the Big C) to ride motorcycles. Throw in north Georgia and eastern Tennessee and it is two-wheeled heaven. We've been making an annual pilgrimage to NC for nearly 20 years and hope to for another 20.
A "road racing fan must"--stop at Jamie James' (former AMA superbike champ) "French Quarter Cafe" at 203 E. State Street (next to the Chamber of Commerce building) in downtown Black Mountain (State Street is Hwy 70). What a gracious host, Jamie took the time to visit with us and had his staff take pictures of him with our group. Excellent food at fair prices!!!!
| Start At | Finish At | Highway(s) Note: links to Google maps |
Submitted by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersville, NC | Roan Mountain, TN | NC261/TN143 | Bob'ster | Passes through Roan Mountain state park! |
| NC197 & Huntdale Rd. | 19W & Hunting Dale Rd. | Hunting Dale Rd | Bob'ster | This connects NC-197 and US-19W. Off 19W it's called Hunting Dale Road and from 197 it's called Huntdale Road (google maps). I like this road to keep me off US 19E from I-26 through Spruce Pine since that road is straight and heavily travelled. It's also good to make a circle route if you take 197 from Bakersville to Erwin, TN.....gives you a different way to come back part of the way |
| Micaville | Jct NC80 & Seven Mi. Ridge Rd. | Blue Rock Rd./Halls Chapel Rd. | Bob'ster | These roads run parallel to NC80 east of 80. Blue Rock Rd. "T's" into 1185 just befor US19E. This route is a couple of miles east of Micaville |
| Tim Simpson | Just about any road, try Hwy 28, 215, 281, 197, 276 | |||
| Cherokee | Front Royal, VA | Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive | Mike Sayers | |
| Marion | Mt. Mitchell | US 70 west 2 miles out of Marion to NC 80 | Mike Sayers | 11 miles of sweepers & tunnels to Mt. Mitchell entrance, right 4 miles to top of tallest mountain east of Mississippi |
| Tapoco | Chilhowee, TN | US 129 (Deals Gap, "The Dragon" | Mike Sayers | Really tight. Editor's Note: It has become TOO famous drawing many squid and much law enforcement!! |
| YT K | Any road that CROSSES the Blue Ridge Parkway is probably an excellent road. These are usually very tight cornered roads. | |||
| Brevard | Highlands | US64 | YT K | Could have been a great road but it had an exceptionally high volume of traffic. |
| Cashiers | Junction of 107 & 28 in SC | Hwy 107 | YT K | Typical NC road, fine surface, both sweepers and tight, not much traffic. |
| Morganton | Blue Ridge Pkwy | Hwy 181 | Ron | Once you reach the Parkway, take a right (northerly) to the Hwy 221 exit. |
| Blue Ridge Pkwy at Hwy 221 | Blowing Rock | Hwy 221 | Ron | Take Hwy 221 North. Tight twisties (1st and 2nd gear turns) |
| 3-in-1 Map | The best roads in the SE USA | Too numerous to list | Cycle-Paths | The 3-in-1 Map is one and only map you will need to ride GA, NC, and TN sportbike roads. Send a check for $6.75 payable to Ernest Phillips at: Cycle Paths, 375 Martin Ward Road, Tunnel Hill, GA 30755 or e-mail Ernie for more information. |
| Chandler | Junction Hwy 151 and Blue Ridge Pkwy |
Hwy
151 Note: see 276 below |
YT K | About 8 miles west of Asheville. Deals Gap has NOTHING on this stretch of road. Extremely tight, very little traffic, some road debris. See Note 1 |
| Junction of US 276 and Hwy 215 | Junction of Hwy 280 and US 276 |
US
276 Note: see 151 above |
YT K | Start point is 6 miles east of Waynesville. Wonderful sweepers, great road surface. Watch for fishermen on the south-side of the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Combine with Hwy 215 (below) for a GREAT 80 mile loop. See Note 1 |
| Junction of US 276 and Hwy 215 | Junction of Hwy 215 and US 64 | Hwy 215 | YT K | Wonderful sweepers, great road surface. Combine with US 276 (above) for a GREAT 80 mile loop. See Note 1 |
| Junction US 64 and SSR 1310 | Junction SSR 1310 and US 19 | SSR 1310 | Ernest Phillips | This one is for the "sport" in sport riding. The Junction of US64 and SSR1310 is about 2 miles west of Franklin (in Macon county). SSR 1310 is also known as "Wayah Road" |
| Junction of Hwy 70 and Hwy 80 | Junction Hwy 80 and Hwy 226 | Hwy 80 | YT K | This
is really a nice "piece of work" you can have a
great time without exceeding 50 mph--I'd say its much
more fun than the dragon. Many homes along the road! FYI,
Hwy south of Micaville to BRP is not bad but seems
heavily traveled, south of the BRP to Hwy 70 it is at least a B+
Stop in the Micaville Cafe and have a piece of "hot fudge cake". Double Island Rd is only about .2 mile to the west of the cafe on the right side of the road. |
| Leicester (about 13 miles nw of Asheville) | Trust | Hwy 63 | YT K | Once you leave the residential area this is a terrific road that includes some of the best scenery (if you take the time to actually see it) in the Asheville area. |
| Jct. US 19 & US 19W (about 5 miles east of Burnsville) | Erwin, TN | US 19W | YT K | Very nice section of road, BUT lots of gravel in the corners. |
| Spruce Pine | Vilas (about 6 mi. nw of Boone) | US 19E, Hwy 194 | YT K | Just another very nice stretch of NC roads. US 19 is a major road and can be quite busy. There is a nice hospital in Spruce Pine--just ask my riding partner, "Big Skid." |
| Bat Cave | Black Mountain | Hwy 9 | Dick Chambers | Light to moderate traffic but subject to gravel in the turns. |
| Micaville | Jct. SR 1308 & Hwy 137 | SR 1308 (a/k/a Double Island Road) | Ken Moore | Take 19E into Burnsville and take the right turn for NC 80 to Micaville. You'll see signs for Blue Ridge Parkway access. Before you reach NC 80, there is a left turn onto a Double Island Road. Double Island goes under 19E. To look at a map, you would think it's accessible from 19E, but you actually have to go under 19E to ride on Double Island. There are many options once you navigate Double Island. Once you ride it, I'm sure you'll agree, it's the tightest turns of any road in the region. ED. NOTE: I've ridden this one, the "Dragon" does not have much over it. However, there are many homes back here so be careful of local traffic. |
| Hot Springs | Hwy 208/212 & TN 352 | Ken Moore | Hwy 208/212 off of 25/70 6 miles east of Hot Springs, NC. 212 becomes TN 352 and will eventually cross 19W outside of Erwin TN NC 194 north of Boone. Eventually empties into US 221. Some of the nicest, most desolate roads in the High Country | |
| Linville | Blowing Rock | US 221 | Carl of Union Cycle in Charlotte | Can finish this route by continuing from Blowing Rock to Boone |
| I-40, exit 24 | Hot Springs | Hwy 209 | Scot Dail | Hwy 209 (I-40 exit 24 west of Asheville) - takes you up to 25/70 near Hot Springs |
| Morganton | Linville | Hwy 181 | Scot Dail | Awesome sweepers, also known as the "181 Speedway" |
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1. Asheville is a great place to use as a "base camp" when riding the GA-NC-TN magic triangle. California roads have NOTHING on the roads in this area. The Wisconsin Buffet Sport Riders just completed a week (actually 6/7-6/12/98) in the Asheville area. You can make a week of riding Hwy 151, US 276, and Hwy 215 and NEVER be bored. Use the Blue Ridge Parkway as the shuttle route. A bit of advice--Don't speed on the Parkway on weekends--too much traffic and enforcement. Deals Gap is only 80 miles away.
Updated: 12/07/07 by J Knutson (ytk@sportbikeroads.com)
