Asking advise for Sky Line Dr & BRP

[raceman62race]

In June, my wife and I along with another couple will be taking a vacation to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway and Sky Line Dr. There will be 2 bikes and both will be towing a trailer. We are planning on leaving GA traveling north on freeways to Virginia, do some white water rafting and then head over to the northern most end of Sky Line Dr. We want to head south on Sky Line Dr into the Blue Ridge Parkway continuing on BRP to the southern end. This is where I am asking for advise: How many days should I plan to be on SLD & BRP? We want to go at a casual pace enjoying the views and photo opportunities. Also, does anyone know of any "must see" things and places along the way? All advise will be appreciated!

I know it's a little early for this because June is a long time off but we need to know how many days vacation requests to put in for.

[Chaplain]

I don't care what people say....."Take some foul weather gear"! Temperature and weather fluctuations happen there. It is a beautiful drive and very slow. Don't get bored, just enjoy it. I hope I get another crack at it someday. We did ours in a car. 3 wonderful days. Another one of these is the Natchez Trace. Warmer but very relaxing 35mph ride.

[Venturous Randy]

Would a week or more be too long for you? I say this because not only is the time on the BRP wonderful, but there are a bunch of things to explore along the way. There are many small motels that are definitely motorcycle friendly. These are places you can leave your trailers and explore some really neat rides. An example of this would be in the Little Switzerland area between Boone and Asheville. There are several small motels there along with the Little Switzerland Chalet, which has areas set aside for motorcycles. If you stayed in that area, the wonderful riding roads are really great. It is not far to Mt Mitchell, which is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi. Dropping off the mountain in either direction on 280 between Mt. Mitchell and Little Switzerland is a great ride. East is known on here as the Tail of the Rooster and to me is a better ride than the Tail of the Dragon. Off the west side takes you down to Carolina Hemlocks Park, a great place to camp and swim, especially snorkel, but I must warn you, the water is a bit on the cool side. You may wonder where things are hiding.

There are a lot of good places to eat, some are a little pricey and many are mom and pop places. There are some great walks to waterfalls and vistas to see. There are many neat mountain towns within 10 miles or so of the parkway.

Also, there are several members with in an hour or closer to the BRP and may want to join you for a visit.

RandyA

[Wolf]

The ride down will be around 600 miles. The Skyline drive starts in Front Royal, Va, and the average speed will be 35-40 mph. So depending upon how long you want to ride a day will set your time. The temperature is not too much different than the lower areas until you get down to southern Virginia, and the weather will be the same either way. rain or shine.

 

There are some great books about the sights and hikes along the way. PM me and I will be happy to loan them to you for a while to plan your trip.

 

We are looking to do this ride in early April at this point, looks like there will be 4 or 5 bikes on this trip at this point. We would be happy for you to hook up with us.

[phill12]

Watch out for the bear and deer they are everwhere! Have a camera at the ready! Lot of kodak moments.

 

[jlh3rd]

as an example for time.....we left harrisburg,pa and rode to skyline, the BRP, and the natchez trace and then back in 10 days last may....we did get off of the BRP around roanoke on the way back....and it was 10 days of riding with 3 days of sunshine....hopefully, june won't be too bad.....have cold/wet gear with you...there are lots , and i mean lots, of pull-offs , so the amount of time for your trip can depend on how many times you stop......and traffic may be worse for you in june......not too many motorhomes in may for us......no matter, you will have a great time...

[Riderduke]

here is a couple of sites to get you started:happy34:

 

http://www.motorcycleadventuremap.com/

http://www.virtualblueridge.com/things-to-do/

[yamadawg]

You should allow three days end-to-end at an absolute minimum. One day for SLD and two for the BRP. This is exactly what we did last August and I regret we did not allow for more time. We basically just had time to enjoy the roads themselves with ouly a few forays off, one being Mt. Airy. There is enough to see and do along the way to make that ride as long as you want...

[hillrider]

Got a few minutes for a little light reading.

 

http://ncnatural.com/Parkway/

[MoRiverRat]

Stay a night at Iron Horse Motorcycle Resort - It is a motorcycle oriented lodge, camping and cabins. We stay the whole week there. See www.ironhorsenc.com

[99silver]

Try to schedule your days on Skyline and BRP during the week and you should not find hardly any traffic. We ran it down to the Asheville rally two years ago during the week and it seemed at times we were the only ones on the road, it was great.

You will be amazed its spectacular.

[Bummer]

I suppose this may have changed in the twenty years (OMG that long? ) since we rode it last, but considering the area it seems somewhat unlikely.

 

Sections of the BRP are only "park" for the width of the road's right of way. In places farm fences are only a few feet off of the road. They're rustic, of course, but they're still farms.

 

At one point a pickup came around a turn and started flashing its lights at us. When we went around that turn we saw why. A rather large bull had gotten out of his pasture and was ambling down the road. Not as huge as a bison, and not as unpredictable as the deer, but still, a bit of a problem none the less.

[midnite]

Raceman, my wife and I will be doing this same ride in June. Starting on the 21st, at Front Royal. Will be leaving home on the 17th going to Oberlin for maint day on the 19th, then leaving there on the 20th,to start ride to Front Royal. If ya'll would like to meet up we would be glad to see ya. We plan on making many stops, allowing about a week, to make it back to West Tn.

[johnny-canuck]

Hey Raceman,

 

My wife and I are planning to do the BRP and Skyline in July and I was going ask the same question you did. Now I can just read all the replies to your post.

 

I did the BRP last May with 5 other bikes. (Our wives let us out for a week:thumbsup:) I fell in love with it but we were riding hard (floor board scrapping hard) so I didn't get to see much.

 

We started out just planning to do this ride, but then found out that the Venture rally falls in the same time period, so we are going to the rally in Potato Creek, then hi-tailing it south and riding the BRP north. It's ambitious, but we will have 5 or 6 days to play with on the BRP and Skyline. It is a day and half of hard riding from the top of the Skyline to home. But on a Venture, no ride is hard:big-grin-emoticon:

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

John

Fredericton, NB

[raceman62race]

Raceman, my wife and I will be doing this same ride in June. Starting on the 21st, at Front Royal. Will be leaving home on the 17th going to Oberlin for maint day on the 19th, then leaving there on the 20th,to start ride to Front Royal. If ya'll would like to meet up we would be glad to see ya. We plan on making many stops, allowing about a week, to make it back to West Tn.

 

We would love to take you up on that but we have to be back home on the 20th of June. As of now, it looks like we will be at the beginning of SKD on the 15 of June heading south to be home on the 20th. Hope you enjoy the ride!

[raceman62race]

Hey Raceman,

 

My wife and I are planning to do the BRP and Skyline in July and I was going ask the same question you did. Now I can just read all the replies to your post.

 

I did the BRP last May with 5 other bikes. (Our wives let us out for a week:thumbsup:) I fell in love with it but we were riding hard (floor board scrapping hard) so I didn't get to see much.

 

We started out just planning to do this ride, but then found out that the Venture rally falls in the same time period, so we are going to the rally in Potato Creek, then hi-tailing it south and riding the BRP north. It's ambitious, but we will have 5 or 6 days to play with on the BRP and Skyline. It is a day and half of hard riding from the top of the Skyline to home. But on a Venture, no ride is hard:big-grin-emoticon:

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

John

Fredericton, NB

 

Thanks but we will have our wives with us and we are just wanting to go at a casual pace. Ride carefull and have fun!

[johnny-canuck]

We will also be riding at a casual pace except for the trip to the rally and the trip home after we tour the BRP and Skyline and that will be mostly interstate. My wife says I have to learn to smell the roses:Laugh:

[jburrell]

I want to go in early June myself and have been looking at area attractions etc so I can determine how long I want to stay. Wanted to go last year but couldn't find any one interested. Maybe this year someone will want to participate and enjoy the ride.

[spotsy]

Like everyone else has said great route. My 2 cents worth.

 

I ride the BRP all the time so if you have specifics please ask.

 

SLD, great overlooks and the speed is 35 all the way to the BRP. I would say about 6 or so hours from Front Royal to Afton Mountain at Rt 64. that's taking your time and hitting a few overlooks. Watch your speed because it's federal. The SLD has better overlooks in my opinion. They keep them cut back so you can see better. You get a lot more slow people on the SLD so be aware.

 

The BRP is 45 for the most part and the curves are more rolling so it's very enjoyable. Either place, keep your eye out for wildlife. Not far after you get on the BRP you have Humpback Rocks. Nice 2 hour walk if that's your cup of tea. :-)

 

BRP, you have Big Meadows camping if that's your thing. Always deer in the meadow just before dusk. On the BRP there is a great place at Meadows of Dan for camping, Willville motorcyle camping and Mabry Mill is just before that. Great place to see how it was a few years back.

 

I have never been there but Grandfather Mountain looks neat in NC. I'm not sure what else is down south.

 

Spotsy

[raceman62race]

Like everyone else has said great route. My 2 cents worth.

 

I ride the BRP all the time so if you have specifics please ask.

 

SLD, great overlooks and the speed is 35 all the way to the BRP. I would say about 6 or so hours from Front Royal to Afton Mountain at Rt 64. that's taking your time and hitting a few overlooks. Watch your speed because it's federal. The SLD has better overlooks in my opinion. They keep them cut back so you can see better. You get a lot more slow people on the SLD so be aware.

 

The BRP is 45 for the most part and the curves are more rolling so it's very enjoyable. Either place, keep your eye out for wildlife. Not far after you get on the BRP you have Humpback Rocks. Nice 2 hour walk if that's your cup of tea. :-)

 

BRP, you have Big Meadows camping if that's your thing. Always deer in the meadow just before dusk. On the BRP there is a great place at Meadows of Dan for camping, Willville motorcyle camping and Mabry Mill is just before that. Great place to see how it was a few years back.

 

I have never been there but Grandfather Mountain looks neat in NC. I'm not sure what else is down south.

 

Spotsy

 

We're going to be doing a lot of tent camping unless rain is in the forecast. I'll probabally check up with you as time nears for some camping and view advise.