Ny➡️Tennessee

Looking for some cool places to stop on my way down to Chattanooga next week. Coming from adirondack park in ny so I'm used to the mountain views and waterfalls! Will be towing a small 5x8 trailer as well so I unfortunately can't do anything to wild but Im allotting 3 days for the 15 hour drive so I can see the country along the way.

 

Not sure how long you've got, but the Blue Ridge Pkwy is a great ride.....!! Did it twice on motorcycle... just F'n lovely..!

Slow ride at 45 MPH, but certainly NOT stressful.

 

Shenandoah in Virginia is worth it. Take a cruise on the Blue Ridge Parkway and take a few hikes.

Editver60 snaked my post idea!

 

Skyline drive costs money to get on. The blue ridge parkway is free. On your way south via I81, take I64 east towards Richmond and you will top Afton mountain, about 20 minutes down 64, this is where where skyline drive ends and the blue ridge parkway starts. If you take the parkway to Roanoke it will take you back to I81. There are other options, obviously, to jump back on 81 if you wish. 45mph gets old after 100+ miles but the scenery and no stoplights is very nice. I live about 5 minutes from mile marker 60

 

Did this same basic drive. TN is just the best.

 

Check out the eclipse if you are here Monday!

 

Your truck is sick. Lift/tires/wheels?

 

I won't be down until pro

Any specific parts that are more worth it than others. Probably not going to travel all 400 miles of it lol

 

Just hop on the Parkway around Damascus area and cruise down to Asheville. From Asheville, get directions to Nantahala Outdoor Center which is a scenic hour-hour.5 drive down the NC side of the mountains. From there you have 2 choices to get to Chattanooga.
1. You can hop on the Cherohala Skyway from Robinsville to Tellico Plains (crossing into Tennessee). This skyway is about 50 miles long, not too terribly curvy but generally a 45mph speed limit and features the most miles of paved road over 5,000ft east of the Mississippi. Much of the drive is along a ridge looking at mountain views on both sides of the road. You come out in Tellico Plains - make a left at the bottom of the skyway toward Turkey Creek/Bald River Falls which is a good place to stop and take a swim or have a lunch. From Tellico Plains you can get direction to Chattanooga (about 1.5 hrs)

2. Direct route to Chattanooga from Nantahala along highway 64 passing through Murphy and Ocoee. Also a beautiful drive, but is more of a 60mph drive with less grades, more open. Soon after you cross from NC into TN you'll approach the Ocoee river which is where I spend a good bit of my summers kayaking on the Upper and Middle sections of this river. There's a whitewater center there - it's where the 1996 olympics were held for whitewater events. From Ocoee you just basically keep going straight for about 20-30 minutes until you see signs for Chattanooga. Ocoee is less than an hour for downtown Chattanooga

If going to Ocoee area, I'd also recommend if you have time to head up on Chilhowee which is a decent sized mountain with great views, and at the top there is a trail to Benton Falls. If there's been rain, this is a nice 2 mile roundtrip hike through the woods to a beautiful cascading waterfall with a shallow pool you can dip in before heading back to the truck.

While in the Chattanooga area, suggest checking out Cloudland Canyon State Park - about 30 minutes from Chattanooga near the Georgia line. really cool gorge with old growth hemlocks cut on two sides by creeks/rivers.

I stay and work in Nashville, but we do most of our LIVING in East TN and West NC so if you need any more tips let me know.

 

"Looking for some cool places to stop on my way down to Chattanooga"

bshammer0 pretty much got it. I'd suggest option 1.

I would add about an hour detour, and go to Hot Springs, NC. About an hour northwest of Asheville on US-70, Spring Creek is a decent pizza place and there is a biker restaurant next to that. Kind of a hippie / hiker town, but good to know of when I-40 or 75 are closed for rock slides.

Stuff around Asheville might be of interest to you. If you pass Mt Pisgah on Blue Ridge, stop by the Pisgah Inn, the view is nice. Maggie Valley was a nice place to stop for lunch when we drove thru.

In regards to the Nanthala Outdoor Center, there are. a few, I think the one referenced here is Bryson City. There are some nice small towns to drive thru on the NC side of the Smokies.

There really isn't any reason to go to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, unless you like surprise traffic.

If for whatever reason you have a return trip and take the interstate, notes about I-81 would be nice, I haven't been on that in a while and need to in a month or two. Also there are a couple good burger places in Knoxville.

 

Good call - I am referencing the original outfitter that's just outside of Bryson City. Stop and have lunch, watch the kayakers playing in the surf holes, walk up to Nantahala Falls and watch rafters get thrown from there boats. Nat'l Geographic once called this place "quite possibly the best outfitter on earth." Also pretty rare because they were grandfathered in and maintain their permit to that part of the gorge (which sits in Federal land - Nantahala National Forest). You'll find banjo pickers next to a riverside bar, trout swimming along the banks with fly fisherman out in the mornings, etc., Also cool canopy zip lining too. I don't know anyone who hasn't gone to this place and been like "whaaa" it's a little oasis for sure!

hot Springs is a cool spot as well for sure! Good call on that. All depends on what floats your boat, but the Nantahala does give you quick access to the Cherohala if you want to take an outstanding drive back over to TN.

 

You might as well tour the world famous "Dragon"....U.S. 129 to Deal's gap...get a T-shirt...318 curves in 11 miles

It's best on a motorcycle but still worth the drive.

 

fun without a trailer behind you for sure... Taco handles the dragon really well surprisingly. S-mode heaven in the auto. ha! I'd still say for what he's looking to do, the scenic and easier-going nature of Cherohala would be a better bet personally. Can't go wrong though man!

 

thanks for all the great ideas guys i will check them all out on the map to calculate the times and what not. I'm moving to chattanooga for a year and the more research i do i continue to fall in love.

 

Good luck man... nice place to move to..

 

Yeah don't let Chattanooga fool you, they have a great revitalized downtown area.

 

because banjo picking is such a great thing to see when rafting down in the south? oh no. no thanks.
Well, if you must, stop in canton NC in the foothills of NC, around Maggie Valley, Pisgah National Forest. See if you can find Herbert, Squirrel man, Cowboy Coward "Squeal like a Pig".

Nantahala's a great area, so is Fontana Dam area. While there, take the cherahola skyway into tennesee. You are about 1.5 hours from chatanooga from tellico planes, where the cherahola drops you off.

 

Damn, I wish I knew that. I thought about taking the gravel road out of Cades Cove last year but it landed me in 129. I didn't want to do it because of it's lore and wasn't sure if the truck would just end up backing people up. good to know. We are thinking of alternating vehicles on our trip to that area so we can hit some of the fun twisties in our car, and the trails in the taco. We were out there a few years back and just hung out at deals gap. avoided the road because there was an organized ride of sports bikes and didn't want to get in the way.

Cherohala's great. Last time we were out there, there was a storm blowing through and we had to lean almost 45 degrees to the ground to walk back to the car. Great country out there. Well worth our 10 hour drive down there, every 1-2 years.

 

Parson's Branch Rd.

 

Hey ration 102 where are you in the Adirondacks. I go up Schroon Lake