Yes. My wife and I left on a Monday morning, doing the Skyline Drive and BRP and pulled into Maggie Valley on Friday evening. Spent the next 6 days riding the area including the BRP to the end and even backtracking it. Did the Dragon and the Smokey Mtns and then blasted home in 2 days on the superslab.

I understand having time restrictions. It sucks big time.

 

JMO, but I like the southern end. Lots of other great rides around the southern tip, like Cherohala Skyway, Hellbender on NC28, Cherokee Run on NC19 through Maggie Valley. And, oh, the Dragon is there too.

 

​​​​Do you plan on doing Skyline a BRP in that time frame? I've done both and BRP was the nicer of the two. I liked the southern part of the BRP better. Although, the northern part is great as well. Run the whole thing. Look to stay in Maggie Valley NC which is about 20 miles from the end I the BRP. Nice motorcycle town and great motorcycle museum. Just did the southern part of the BRP this summer and stayed in MV for three nights. A ton of great rodes in that area.

 

3 days to do the whole route. About Roanoke, if you go to the HD dealership try to take Harley drive to it, it's a back way and probably a little easier to navigate coming out. Learned real quick with the weight on the bike and the curves on the BRP.

 

I've ridden it several times and have a trip planned for June 2018. After riding it from the start in Waynesboro, VA, the last three times I get on around the VA/NC boarder. This leaves you with about 200 miles of parkway and I think the best part. Once south of Boone get fuel any chance you can if your bike is a gas hog. Fuel is available but down in the valley which is a 25-40 minute ride off the parkway since you are traveling around 4K feet or more in altitude. Even riding it from the NC boarder with two days you won't have time to take in all the sites.

 

Same boat as you. Would like to do the whole thing from MA but time is limited...

 

If you are doing it for the "experience" then you should include the part of the Parkway called Skyline Drive.


The southern portion of the BRP that many have referred to (from Asheville to Cherokee) is the highest portion of the parkway, thus offers the most long range views. There are plenty of beautiful sights on the entire length of road.


Do be aware of construction ongoing near Blowing Rock, NC. There are portions of road being removed and replaced several miles at a time. You may find yourself riding on loose gravel or even being forced to detour off the BRP to re-enter at another point.


Spring can be busy once things start blooming. Around here (Asheville area) that means mid-April ish.


Weeks when school is out for summer break tend to bring a bit more traffic, especially in certain areas. Locally, anywhere within 20-30 miles of Asheville can get crowded, Grandfather Mountain area will frequently back up like a MF, Linville Falls area is consistently busy and Mt. Mitchell and Craggy Pinnacle tend to draw bigger type tourist crowds.


Fall leaf looking season is also rather busy in my area.


The whole 469 miles can be done in 2 days but that doesn't leave much time for overlooks and certainly no time for visiting anything. I would research the places along the route ahead of time and decide which stuff you'd really like to see and get pictures of and aim for those stops. I would actually recommend that if you have a limited time slot available, do the BRP in one direction and a different route back. US 221 north from Marion, NC to Roanoke, VA is a great ride. 221 also crosses the BRP many times along that way. US 340 between Waynesboro, VA and Front Royal, VA is also a very nice ride right through the middle of the Shenandoah Valley.


A question is, "where are you staying?". Decide how many days you can spend on the BRP and plan out stops for each night. That will give you a goal for each day and keep you from wasting time looking for a place to stay each night. You could possibly find yourself doing a lot of riding and searching if you don't plan the stops.


If you'll be staying at the southern end (or nearby) for a few days, plan some loop rides that will take you back up onto the BRP while you are in the area. Also, keep in mind that there are PLENTY of great rides in the area other than the BRP. There are very few "bad riding roads" anywhere near my house.


If you find yourself looking for a guide in the Asheville area, or just want an idea or 2 for a good place to eat and drink, send me a PM and maybe we can meet up.

 

If I were you, I would run the highway to get to the southern end. Then you can take your time riding back up the parkway. That way, you can stop as much as you want and adjust how far up the parkway you ride. Like has been said, a lot of nice riding at the south end. I've only been on the BRP twice but I definitely think the NC portion is a lot nicer than VA. The second time I was there, I didn't ride the VA part of it.

 

That's the part I did a couple months ago. It was pretty awesome. Also, the highest peak is in that chunk of the Parkway.

 

Where did you stay in Maggie? I miss the days that Derrick owned the "APPLE COVER INN"... it used to be the best motorcycle friendly place in the area...

I hear it has gone down hill since being sold... Don't remember what they renamed it...