Travel Route Suggestions for Maggie Valley

[MouthPiece]

With Maggie Valley fast approaching I've been thinking about a few possible routes to take to get to the Roanoke, Virginia area. I live in Orlando and will be leaving Saturday morning 7:00ish. I hope to take I-4 and then I-95 up the east coast to the Charleston, S.C. area. It is there that I am having a delimna on what route to take to get to the Roanoke area.

Keep in mind that I am allowing myself two days to get there. Is there a route near Charleston, S.C., that someone would recommend for a scenic tour and that I can more or less "smell the roses" along the way versus riding the super slab?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. (I'm partial to waterfalls and rivers)

Chris

 

[captblack]

That is pretty hard to advise you because it is a bit vague. Are you going to VA before Maggie Valley? Charleston seems to be pretty far out of the way, unless that is someplace you want to visit (I could spend days there so I would not try it on a quick trip). You might look at 95 to 26 and then up through Charlotte. There are a number of small roads you could take from there, depending on your plans. Pull up Google Maps and use the zoom function to look at the roads, then try the picture function (using the yellow man) to see what the scenery is like.

If you provide some more information, I am sure that someone that lives around might have some good ideas ...

 

[SPYD3R]

Rt.17

take Route 17 North along the coast... you can pick it up in Florida and ride to your hearts content.... beautiful ride, n gr8 cities to visit along the way....
careful in Brunswich, GA.... that bridge must be 25 miles high.... :roflblack:

 

[MouthPiece]

I'm sorry. I was vague. I had hoped to be in the Roanoke area by late Sunday. I was then going to take the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Maggie Valley, and be there late Tuesday. That would give me a full two days "during the week" to ride the Blue Ridge.

Sorry I did not articulate myself better earlier. You'd think that I would know better.

Chris

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

Blue Ridge Parkway is a great ride but can be a little frustrating with slow tourists in RV's and gawkers in cars. Allow yourself an Latinate route if you start to find yourself running late on your time schedule.

 

[paulbrinker]

Blue Ridge parkway is a great ride. However, due to budget cuts, many of the gift shops and picnic areas are closed this year. Plus you will need to get off the parkway for food and fuel. Just thought you might need this information.

 

[Pennyrick]

Chris:

I have travelled the Blue Ridge frequently and I just googled the stretch from Roanoke down to the Maggie Valley area. It comes up at about 335 miles and that includes a stretch on Highway 221 out of Roanoke to save some time.

With a 35 MPH limit and ugly traffic (even on weekdays) my guess is that you might be able to maintain an average speed of 20-25 MPH. There are no gas stations on the Parkway, nor restaurants so that means anywhere from 30-40 miles round trip off the Parkway to find those things. If you make three stops in 335 miles that will conservatively add close to another 100 miles to your trip.

Let's say you'll run 435 miles in total. Divide that by 25 MPH and you get 17.4 hours in the saddle. That is a three day trip for me but your butt may be fatigue-resistant

 

[NancysToy]

Don't let anyone discourage you from the BRP. It is a marvelous ride. I expect you will do better than 20-25 as an average during the week. We did the entire length, plus Skyline Drive, in three days, with time out for some tourist stuff. Skyline Drive is slower, but from Roanoke you will be on the BRP all the way, so you have a higher speed limit (45 mph) over most of it. Not a bad idea to plan an alternate route, as in bad weather the BRP may be shut down, or so blind as to be very slow going. We did the BRP/Skyline leaving Maggie Valley in 2011, and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. Also be prepared for your GPS to try to avoid the Parkway at all costs. We rode most of it with just the map showing, no route. It is handy to show tight curves ahead.

 

[2 Stricklands]

Blue Ridge Parkway

As Scotty says, the limit out of Roanoke is 45 and there are some restaurants on the parkway and some gas stations within a mile or so of the parkway. If you gas in Roanoke, you can reach NC and there is gas stations at the first exit in NC. I have run the parkway from Roanoke to Ashville, NC and never had any problem finding food or gas.

 

[MouthPiece]

Thanks all for your responses. I'll be carrying a 1.75 gallon "rotopax" gas can for the gas issue. I also hope to be in the company of Cal777/Rudy on the Blue Ridge to Maggie Valley.

Thanks again.

Chris

 

[ulflyer]

Thanks all for your responses. I'll be carrying a 1.75 gallon "rotopax" gas can for the gas issue. I also hope to be in the company of Cal777/Rudy on the Blue Ridge to Maggie Valley.

Thanks again.

Chris

Hit the first BRP tourist stop and get a brochure that will tell you all the gas/restaurants. There really isn't a gas shortage as long as you don't wait till you're nearly empty. If you have the time, run up to top of Mt. Mitchell. Theres a resturant up there if its chow time. Mabry Mill is scenic and worth seeing also. Peaks of Otter has a nice restaurant.

I love the BRP and have ridden it a lot, being less than 2 hrs away, but frankly, I find it a bit boring after awhile as the trees along the road have grown up and block the views. You have to stop at the designated places to see anything. 20-30 years ago you could see all you wanted with a minimum of stops. During the week there is minimum traffic.

 

[Pennyrick]

Thanks all for your responses. I'll be carrying a 1.75 gallon "rotopax" gas can for the gas issue. I also hope to be in the company of Cal777/Rudy on the Blue Ridge to Maggie Valley.

Thanks again.

Chris

Chris: I certainly didn't intend to discourage you from riding the Parkway. My intent was to let you know some of the challenges so that you can really enjoy pulling out for the lookouts, visiting places like Linville Falls, the Granite exhibit, etc. Maybe we did that too much on our last ride there and ran out of time. We had to jump over to highway 221 south that mostly parallels the BRP and has a 55 MPH limit.

Take the extra day it will be worth it. By the way, Scotty is right. The GPS doesn't like the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 

[MouthPiece]

Chris: I certainly didn't intend to discourage you from riding the Parkway. My intent was to let you know some of the challenges so that you can really enjoy pulling out for the lookouts, visiting places like Linville Falls, the Granite exhibit, etc. Maybe we did that too much on our last ride there and ran out of time. We had to jump over to highway 221 south that mostly parallels the BRP and has a 55 MPH limit.

Take the extra day it will be worth it. By the way, Scotty is right. The GPS doesn't like the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Thanks so much and I really didn't "receive it" that way. Knowledge is power. I'm the first to admit that I don't have all the answers and any input for this ole boy is greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

We need a "BRP on a BRP Spyder" Badge!