The wife and I are heading down to the BRP and smokey mountains on vacation, We will be staying in Blowing Rock N.C. and Robbinsville N.C. This is a motorcycle touring trip , looking for info on anything interesting , restaraunts , gun shops.
Thanks in advance
Snowchaser

Here are a few places to consider all along the route from Blowing Rock to Robbinsville:

Grandfather Mountain: http://www.grandfather.com/

Linville Caverns: http://www.linvillecaverns.com/

Museum of NC Minerals: http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/attractions-destinations/museum-of-north-carolina-minerals


Mount Mitchell State Park: http://www.romanticasheville.com/mtmitchell.htm


Biltmore House: http://www.biltmore.com/

hillbilly has given you some good'uns.

i ain't frum them parts, but good stuff up there.

asheville in general
ashe county up on the virginia border.
cashiers
brevard
highlands
henersonville where mother urth news was borne.
mt mitchell
black mtn near asheville
gun store right on the nc/ga line near otto in nc on fed. hwy.

Not the best time of year, but Cataloochee valley is where they released most of the elk if you're interested in seeing some.


It requires several miles over gravel forest service roads too. Not the best on 2 wheels.

Love ge area. Wife and I go there frequently. In the blowing rock boone area we like to stay at Chetola if available and the rates are reasonable.the Blue Ridge is the star of the Show and speeds are slow so it takes longe than you think to get somewhere. Places we like
Woodlands Barbeque
Mast Store
Wife likes to shop Blowing Rock
Grandfather Mtn.
Top of Banner Elk
My Mitchell
Biltmore
Lunch at Grove Park Inn
Spa at Grove Park Pricey
Blue ridge from Ahseville to Park
Casino at Cherokee if you like to gamble
Take the old road thru Fontana to Maryville Tn known as Dragons Tail
Elk frequent the meadows at the Oconoluftee center at GSM
Tour thru park toGatlinburg. Fun kitchy tourist trap
Lunch at Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg. Great sandwiches
Take a sweater to Blowing rock as it gets cool even in summer

If you're riding from NE, stop by Bluefield, VA (not WV). Find the pharmacy on Virginia Ave and go next door to the New Graham knives shop. Mike runs one of the best on-line knife shops around and has a great brick & mortar shop too.

Nice to browse around.

Thanks for all the info, we are going in the middle of september. I have never seen an elk outside of a zoo, so i would be ecstatic to see one in the wild.Thank you everyone.

Late Sept or early October would be perfect for the elk. They would be in rut and bugling. Not something Easterners get to see 1st hand often. There are some elk near the Cherokee area, but the odds of seeing them in Cataloochee Valley are 100%. Especially in the Fall. I've seen 40-50 at a time. Sometimes the bulls will be sparring at that time of year too.

That time of year a visit to Cataloochee is a must. The elk are simply spectacular.

Cades Cove is another great place to see; https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm

The tail of the dragon ride is famous:

https://tailofthedragon.cld.bz/Tail-of-the-Dragon-Brochure

Cherahala is a pretty drive, if you like chilly white water the Hiwassee or the Nantahala are nice, the Ocoee if you like it a little wilder

SC61, Don't know if you're a car guy or not, but if you are you may want to check out Floyd Garret's Muscle Car Museum on Dunn Pwky. in Sevierville.

John

Be aware that Sept-oct are busy times for leaf peepers in that area so have your reservations worked out.

Me and the wife just stayed in little Switzerland nc at the big Lynn Lodge off the parkway. Older place but clean. Served breakfast and supper with cottage rental($125 a night). Hiked to three nice falls in one day. Best views of the mountains from the cottages. Better book early lots of people that time of year.

Mast General Store at Valle Crucis is worth a visit. Old time store that sold everything from food to coffins. If you go there from Blowing Rock, make sure you take a ride on Shulls Mill Road. That is one curvy stretch of asphalt.

Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville. There is also a Buds Gun shop a few minutes away.

If you are going to be in Robinsville, I assume it is for the Dragon.... Run it but a better ride is Cherahala..... I live 30 minutes from both and have been on riding them for years... If you are on two wheels you really need to run the Cherehala skyway....

I've done both. For a car I think I like the Cherahala better as well

But just driving thru Smokey Mountain National Park is a great ride

Next time I'm in that area I want to check out the wheels through time motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley.
www.wheelsthroughtime.com

I did that a year ago Sept.. The owner fires up a couple once in a while and rides around the museum.. The exhaust fumes are prodigious.. Be prepared...


But it's quite a place overall..

....is hippieland to the MAX.. Only go there if you're heavily into weed, green energy and college-liberalism.. (BTDT,NA)

Just sayin..

Elk can also often be seen at the Cherokee entrance to GSMNP, which is basically at the southern ENDING of the BRP.
If coming as far north as Virginia on BRP, Floyd is a great place to spend some time. It's just north of Mabry Mill[the most photographed spot on BRP].

Reservations are made,Mast general store sounds like a must see, I do have an apreciation for old time general stores. The dragon and cherhola are a given as well as BRP from the Virginia line to Cherokee , as well as SMNP and the elk. Thank you all for the info it is much apreciated. Any recomendations on where to get a country ham ?

If you are two wheeling the Cherahala, do pay attention and do not let your guard down, there are several decreasing radius curves on there that will catch you by surprise... Lots of people lay their bikes down on there.

Basically anywhere from Virginia down.

We are back from a great vacation. Thank you all for the info and tips. We covered a lot of ground and met a lot of great people.We rode the Blue Ridge Parkway from Mabry Mill Virginia to Cherokee North Carolina, every corner was a vista more spectacular than the last, the wife loved the tunnels.Stopped at Grandfather mountain and Mount Mitchell, it was realy cool to be at the highest point east of the missisipee . I liked the cherhola skyway a lot more than the dragon, The dragon had too many racers on 2 wheels and 4 for my taste.Rode a lot of local roads as well and they were all great.Found ourselves in Sunset South Carolina late one afternoon at a small little bar called Bob's Place. Bobs Place is a shack on the side of the road that is straight out of the 60's , it still has an outhouse in use. We loved that place if you are ever near there you have to stop in. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing the Elk in the cataloochee valley, by the time we got there from Blowing Rock it was the middle of the day and they were up on the hill in the shade. Every once in a while we could here a bull bugle, shortly after that 7 cows came out into the field and the bull followed he was a beautiful 6x7. THey didnt stick around long but headed into the woods to our left. There was a small trail heading in that direction and we eased on down it and got about 50 yards from the bull and watched him chasing a cow around. The cow wasnt ready for him and when she took off up the steep bank he got pissed and started to paw the ground and just shred trees with his antlers , only stoping to bugle and shred some more. This went on for about 35 minutes. what a show !!

Glad you all had a fine trip. The elk can put on a show sometimes.

saw an elk standing next to the pidgeon river 2 weeks ago near the North Carolina border.