After the Ride to the Wall, I have plans to leave Fredericksburg, VA on Monday, May 28 and head over to the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I've road the southern half south of Asheville, but never made it up to the north end. We will head over to Waynesboro, VA and start down the BRP. We will go as far as Little Switzerland, ride the Diamondback before we turn north to New River Gorge Bridge in WV. We plan to ride "The Snake" on the way to WV. Plan to spend nights in Floyd, Blowing Rock, and Boone. Can anyone tell me places to see and eat around Blowing Rock and Boone? Also we will being staying in Beckley, WV on the way to New River Gorge. Any information will be helpful. Thanks.

Here is the ride plan.
http://rideplanner.harley-davidson.c...0&locale=en_US

 

Make sure you ride the road that goes down to Fayette Station while at the New River Gorge bridge. Google "Back of the Dragon" Its a section of 16N in Va that is more technical than the road at Deals Gap with a lot less traffic. If you stay on 16N it will take you all the way from VA to Beckley and is a look into the past of WV when coal was king. If you have any riding time while in Beckley give me a shout. Lots of good roads in the area.

 

If you've never been to "the" Blowing Rock, it's a pretty interesting thing to see. I don't know how far south you're going on the parkway but if you get that far south I recommend going to Grandfather Mountain and walk across the swinging bridge. Also, try to make it to Linville Falls if you make it that far south. You probalby won't make it as far south as Mount Mitchell but, it's the highest point east of the Mississippi.

As far as places to eat, a lot of folks will tell you to hit Woodland's Barbeque in Blowing Rock. It's realatively cheap and the food is decent. I've been there several times and the food is good but I've had better barbeque elsewhere. Quite honestly, I prefer Canyons in Blowing Rock. The food is good, moderately priced, and the view is spectacular. I you don't mind a pricey, the Gamekeeper has a very unusual menu and the food's great. They have Buffalo, Elk, Ostrich, Duck, Pheasant and sometimes Rattlesnake on the menu. If you go there you should try the sampler platter appetizer. The Gamekeeper is a Boone address but is closer to Blowing Rock. The last place I can recommend in Blowing Rock is Glidewell's. It's on Main Street in Blowing Rock. The food is good and moderately priced.

www.gamekeeper-nc.com

www.woodlandsbbq.com

www.canyonsbr.com

In Boone, the Daniel Boone Inn has good down home cooking. I prefer the family style breakfast there. But, I think you need four people to eat family style. If you like Mexican, there's a Tex-Mex restaurant in Boone called Dos Amigos. Decent food, incredibly cheap. Also, for good down home cooking at a decent price is the Mountain House in Boone.

Hope this helps.

 

Having spent many hrs riding the BRP, my favorite piece of advise is to ride the side roads that traverse the east and west sides up to the spine of the BRP. This is where the twisties are and some really cool riding. Rt 56, 33, etc. come to mind.

Here's a map with a pretty rad section.
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=ty...=v&mra=ls&z=12

 

Duraglide, can you make any suggestions for dinner in Beckley?

We will do the "Back of the Dragon" from Marion to Tazewell. But which way do you recommend going out of Tazewell to get to Welch? Should I stay on 16 or go over to Bluefield and head up 52? I'm looking for the most scenic.

Once I get to Pineville should I take 16 or 97 to Beckley?

 

I know this is not exactly the info you requested but I've done the trip to DC from Indiana and back a couple of times.Rode US 50 all the way both times heading to DC it's a nice ride especially the section between Grafton WV and Winchester VA .Then returned via skyline drive and blue ridge parkway with hop offs into Mongahela National forest the snake etc.. One place that I highly recommend that looks like it would fit easily into your ride plan because you will be within a few miles of it when you cross MD/VA on 495 is The Great Falls of the Potomac. It is not far off of the beltway on the VA MD state line, There are state parks on both sides and it is well worth a couple hour stop. google it ,pic really does not do it justice

 

Found a couple of pics from the back of the dragon ,I have to agree it is a must ride! Ride safe!

 

Beckley has most of the Nat'l chain steakhouses. Local upscale place is the Char. Padrinos or Calacinos for Italian. Few miles up the road in Fayeteville are Pies and Pints, Dirty Ernies Rib Pit, and Smokies on the Gorge. I'd stay on 16 all the way to Beckley unless you need to stop by Coles HD in Bluefield on 52. Riding thru War WV is like taking a step back in time. Section of 16 between War and Welch is a real board dragger.

 

Thanks for the input! This is the kind of information I was looking for.

Is the route 52 between Bluefield and Welch as twisty as staying on 16 from Tazewell to Welch? Have you done both?

 

16 is better for the twistys. 52 normally has more traffic including coal trucks. Sunday is probably best traffic-wise on either road.