this summer......starting in Front Royal, Va on down to Maggie Valley.

3 days enough time so we can stop and enjoy along the way?

Recommendations on lodging along the way? No camping for us....

We have a place in Maggie Valley-Maggie Valley Creekside Lodge and are aiming at being there for 3 days.

Any advice will be appreciated!

 

It's a long ride with sight seeing The Skyline is @ 105 miles and the Parkway is @ 460 miles and the speed limits on the Skyline is 35 mph, the Parkway is 45 mph and some areas as slow as 25 mph and the rangers will enforce the speed limits. It takes some time and you have to get off to get fuel. There are hundreds of scenic turnouts, however be careful and remember that many of the turnouts are a bit "off level" and I've seen many drop a scooter.

 

3 Days is plenty of time. The wife and I did it back in 08 in 3 days and we took our time.
For a place to stay, I can't remember the name of the motel but its on Park Vista Rd in NC, its right off the BRP about 100 yrds. Its south of HWY 16 and North of Hwy 421. We called it grandma's place. They run a restaurant right there also. GREAT FOOD!. Now this place is right out of the 50's but its clean and the owners are awesome. Very quiet area. There is a bar off Hwy 16 going east about 1/2 mile called the "Moonshine Inn". Its small but they had a band when we were there and we had a blast. I looked on Google maps and I can't tell if the bar is still in business.
As for the BRP, NC has the best views. VA is a little flat in some area's.
When you go to Maggie Valley you have to stop at "Wheels Through Time" museum. You can look it up and find it. GREAT place, plan on about 2 hrs to go through it. I think its $12 a head. I thought it was better than the Harley Museum in Milwaukee.

 

Glideridemike,

The wife and I toured the entire BRP last summer, great trip.

We went from south to north, did it in 5 days with a lot of stops along the way for sight seeing and hiking, wish we had another day or two to complete the Skyline Drive, we only did the south 35 miles of it.

There are a couple Inns on the parkway we sayed at, one at the Peeks of Otter ($107 for 2) at MP 86±, and the Pisgah Inn ($128 for 2) at MP 408. The Peeks is o.k., a little dated and the wifi was not up and running when we were there, a restaurant with a limited menu and a bar. Pisgah Inn is great, excellent restaurant and breakfast is included with the room cost.

We also stayed at Linville Falls at a place about a mile off BRP and at Mount Airy about 14 miles off BRP.

We were on the road 6 days and wore our rain suits 2 1/2 days, not a lot of rain but the roads were wet 2 days.

If you have time do the Graveyard Fields hike at MP 418, great waterfalls at the end. Also the hike to Devils Courthouse at MP 421 is good, it is a 1/2 mile hike to the top, strenuous but worth the view if it is a clear day.

Enjoy the trip and watch out for deer, they are plentiful in Va and the young ones are dumb as dirt, they will step right out in front of you, we had one that was chasing a car down the center of the road for about 300 feet, it was coming right at us as fast as it could run and veered off about 25 feet from us.

Have a great trip.

 

IMO the southern end of the Parkway is the best......Asheville is a good place to spend the nite and check out Biltmore House if ya haven't already.(takes about half a day)....

 

As a local in the BRP area, I can say that all advice given is right on. The Linville viaduct is an amazing feat of engineering, the last to go up about 15+ years ago. Asheville makes a good stop if you are into the arts, bars, microbreweries, music, hippies and gays. Always something going on. Have a great trip!

 

It took the wife and I 1 day on Skyline Drive and 3 days on the BRP. Just off Skyline Dr. near Luray, VA is the Luray Caverns. A bit of a tourist trap but if you've never been there, it might be worth a look. We went on down the Shannendoah Valley as opposed to getting back on the Skyline Drive. We stayed at some obscure motel near waynesboro, must not have been too great cause I can't recall the name of the joint. We hit the BRP fresh in the morning and rolled on down to Sparta, NC. We stayed that night at the Allegheny INN and they were great to deal with. Parked the scoot directly outside the clerks window where, " If you park it there, I'll keep an eye on it for you." They gave us, clean fresh rags in the AM to dry away the night rain. Just up the street was a great little eatery that served seafood. Not bad, not bad at all. n the north end, stopp at the Music Center. When you near the VA / NC state line and start your downward portion, look to your left and you can see Pilot Mountain if the weather is clear. This is near Mount Airy and both are sites where the Andy Griffith Show was filmed. There are still some buildings in Mt. Airy that you can visit. A few miles south of the line is Rt. 21N and that will take you to Sparta. South of ther is Blowing Rock, Moses Cone House, nad near Linville is Grandfather Mountain and the MILE HIGH SWINGING BRIDGE. A word to the wise, make sure you got a good grip on the bars when you start up to the visitor's center and the bridge. Somewhere in that general area are trails that you can hike up to the Linville Falls, upper and lower. Near Asheville is the Folk Art Center, not a bad place either. We spent that night in Asheville at a Comfort Inn, KINDA PRICEY BUT..... OH WELL. We didn't do the Builtmor and left that for another trip. We did the obligatory picture stops at Mt. Pisgah and Mt. Mitchel. We finally wound up in Cherokee. As was stated earlier, there are hundreds of turn-out and overlooks. Scenery that will make you wonder. Near the southern terminus, make your way to Maggie Valley and tour the Wheels Thru Time Motorcycle Museum. That is where I say I spent the besy money of the trip. The staff and the environment will amaze you. Also in that area is clingman's Dome. Not a bad ride and a good hike. A little farther to the south and you can ride either The Dragon or The Cherohola Skyway. The Skyway to me is the better ride. There is a wealth of information here: http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm and remember, You are only one wrong turn away from your next greatest adventure. One other thing, you might want to take a GPS unit along, not for directions but to help locate gas stations, ther are none on the BRP.

 

Not much into hiking anymore.....but thanks for the info. But we plan on taking in the overlooks as much as possible.

Not sure if we should be making reservations or just take a chance that we can find lodging that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg....lol....I need mine.

Eateries though I figure will be easy to find.
Over 100 miles at 35 mph is hard to imagine.....and 45 for more than that once we get on the parkway.....wqhew! But we're going for the scenery and to relax. Definitely will hit Cherohola....heard there's some good bbq joints over around the other end of it. Might cruise on down into Georgia from Maggie Valley. Supposedly a beautiful ride down and back. Been to the Cherokee village, but didn't make it to WOT, so will hit the museum this time. A guy I know has his bike on display there.....Steve Pickle....used to own a B&B in Gatlinburg, but has since sold it. Not sure if he is still down that way anymore.

Gas. I get near 200 miles to a tank, but the wife riding her little Yamaha has to get gas at about 125 miles, but I know we can find gas....plus I'll have the gps.

 

35 mph does task you after a couple of hours. and that's about all we could take (plus it was on a weekend and crowded.) We ended up getting on a few NC and Va highways instead and still enjoyed the scenery immensely. I've never gone back because I still haven't ridden all the other excellent roads down here.

 

They are not riding the whole thing