Heading down mid April to ride the Dragon, Cherahola Skyway, etc. Will be staying/camping out in Maryville, TN. Any insider info on best backroads to ride, places to eat, etc? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Will not be far from Pigeon Forge Gatlinburg area. alot of good places to eat there. in maryville area eat at aubrey's cafe. smokey mountain hd in maryville also has another dealership in pigeon forge and a t-shirt store in gatlinburg. cades cove is nice wildlife viewing but if i remember it is gravel road.

 

28 headed east is a fantastic ride. If you find your way over to US64 headed east out of Franklin, there are some great falls along that road. A goodly way from where you are going to be tho. Here is my recap and some pics from my trip last summer. https://www.hdforums.com/m_1851405/tm.htm

I have to say that I found the riding everywhere around that area to be better than the Dragon. It is so intense you cannot enjoy any scenery. It is like trying to look at stuff on a roller coaster. I did it years ago on a Honda Hurricane, and MAN WAS THAT FUN! Doing it on a 800lb Shovelhead Bagger was more effort than it was worth.

 

Hey everyone... THANK YOU for the info.

 

As long as the road doesn't turn to gravel.... there are not bad roads in that area. And some of those gravel roads were pretty good too. For a few dollrs check out mad maps
http://www.madmaps.com/store/product...products_id=38

Great routes with turn by turn directions, next best thing to having a local lead you

 

Cades Cove does not turn to gravel, do it on a week day if you can. It gets really crowded on weekends. You have got to do the Cherohala skyway, best road in the area IMO.

 

i dare ya to try and find a bad road, they're all awsome!...i'll be heading up around the last week of april...when you get there they'll be plenty of other bikers/locals who can recommend rides...go to deal's gap, plenty of folks willing to help ya

if anyone's interested and wants to join us for a road trip from Central Florida to the Smokies...PM me!...the more the merrier

 

If you are staying in Maryville cruise down Hwy 411 till you get to Vonore look for Hwy 360...It is a great back road to get you to Cherohala Skyway...Beats going through Madisonville on 411(411 is a 4 lane highway, BORING) Also, like mentioned above get you a Mad Map of the area....Way to many roads to list here as good rides...They all are great!!!!

Stay away from Pigeon Forge adn Gatlinburg as they are traffic nightmares and nothing but tourist traps!!! If you get up in that area though check out Hwy 339..>Very rural area and a great ride will take you all the way to Cosby, TN

Don't forget to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway and all the others in the area... Enjoy your stay!!!

 

Just got the final info from the group leader. We will be staying at http://punkincentermotorcycleresort.com/ If anyone from the forum would like meet up for an after ride cold beverage at the resort, please come join us! Thanks again to all of you for the advice, I am sure our rides will be that much better.

 

If you happen to ride up to Sevierville, look for State Highway 416. It starts off U.S. 411 and ends at Pitman Center, just east of Gatlinburg. I live right off 416 and ride it frequently. From it's beginning on the north side in Sevierville, it is just ordinary for maybe three miles, the city has zoned it for business, subdivisions, etc. Finally, it enters a route following the middle prong of the Little Pigeon River. Through beautiful coves then back along rock walls along the crystal clear water. The road was cut out of the hills, so it has a couple of sharp curves. The river is worth seeing. Eventually the road enters Pitman Center and a beautiful cove with the mountains looming in the background. Finally the road ends at U.S. 321 and if you turn right and cross the bridge, on your left is Greenbrier, one of the finest areas of the national park. Plenty of places to park and enjoy the river and see wildlife. Generally uncrowded, while Cades Cove will be jammed.