Golden Valley Getaways' Favorite Road Trips

Tail of the Dragon - Deals Gap - US 129 - Crossing Deals Gap at the Tennessee / North Carolina state line, the Dragon (US129) is considered as one of the worlds best twistie motorcycling roads, with 318 curves in 11 miles.

Blue Ridge Parkway - The Blue Ridge Parkways is the longest rural parkway in the United States. It runs 469 miles, connecting the Great Smoky Mountains in southern North Carolina to Shenandoah National Park in northern Virginia, and stretches across the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Cherohala Skyway - The Cherohala Skyway is a beautiful 36-mile national scenic byway. The highway runs between Santeetlah Gap 11 near Robbinsville, North Carolina, and Tellico Plains in Tennessee. Officially the Cherohala Skyway is State Route 143 in North Carolina and State Route 165 in Tennessee.

The Diamondback Loop - The Diamondback is located in the area of Little Switzerland and the Blue Ridge Parkway about 50 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina. This 38 mile diamond shaped loop includes NC 226A, US 221, Toms Creek Road, NC 80 and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hellbender 28 - North Carolina Highway 28 North. Starting at Johnson Gap ride 22 miles of motorcycle heaven bordering Fontana Lake in the Great Smoky Mountains and intersecting The Dragon at Deals Gap.

Moonshiner 28 - North Carolina Highway 28 from Deals Gap to Wahalla South Carolina. Stretching from US 129 at the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, Moonshiner 28 winds its way southeastward through Franklin and Highlands North Carolina before turning southward into Georgia and South Carolina at Walhalla.

The Rattler State Road 209 - Located just outside of Hot Springs, NC, it twists and turns all the way to Lake Junaluska , NC. There are over 234 twists, turns and curves from Lake Junaluska to Hot Springs and another 30 from Hot Springs down to the Bobarosa Saloon.

Thunder Road (Wayah road) - North Carolina SR1310. Catch this road on US19 just a few miles north of the 129/19 intersection. The road travels over the mountain and into Franklin. It's 28 miles of twisting fun.

Great North Carolina Loop - This ride includes Tail of the Dragon, Maggie Valley & Blue Ridge Parkway it is about 218 miles and plan on it taking 7 hours (not including stops)

Forest Heritage Scenic Byway - Ride through the beautiful Pisgah National Forest. Start at the intersection of HWY 64 and State Highway 215, near Rosman. Travel north up 215 to Woodrow. From Woodrow take State Rt. 276 South. This is a wonderful road that goes by Looking Glass Falls. At the end you can head towards Brevard and onto Hwy 64, which is a great ride through the Sapphire Valley Ski Area to Highlands, then up to Franklin and then on to Murphy.

The Winding Stair - It is a steep zig-zagging climb from Morganton in the foothills up to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's known as highway 181. With approximately 25 miles of many challenging curves and a rise in elevation of 2800 feet, the Winding Stairs give you awesome views of the gigantic granite profiles of Table Rock and Hawksbill mountains as it passes by one of the three popular overlooks for viewing the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights. Traveling north, Grandfather Mountain will appear in the distance. There are handy mile markers and passing lanes on this stretch for speed or leisure riding. Cresting the mountain you pass through an area known as Ripshin Ridge, notorious for its fierce winds yet acclaimed for it's sweeping panoramas. North of Ripshin Ridge you can enter on to the Blue Ridge Parkway from highway 181 at Pineola.

South Mountains Scenery ByWay - The South Mountain Scenery By-Way begins on highway 226. It is a 33-mile scenic drive through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The central section of this scenic by-way travels through the lower southwestern section of the South Mountains in the northeast corner of Rutherford County's "Golden Valley" region. Though the by-way begins or ends (depending on what direction your coming from) from the town of Marion in McDowell County, North Carolina from the north and Polkville Cleveland County, North Carolina from the south. The heart of the scenic drive travels through Rutherford County's Golden Valley in the southern regions of the South Mountains which formally gives the scenic by-way its name.

Cherry Bounce Trail - The Cherry Bounce Trail in Rutherford County, North Carolina is a mostly rural historic scenic driving tour that cruises through the central foothills, valleys and northeastern mountains of this remarkable and officially oldest governing body in far Western North Carolina. Featured along this auto sightseeing tour is the beauty of the county's landscape along with its impressive rural history of the Colonial settlers that predate the Revolutionary War along with other historical and more current events.

Drovers Road By-Way - The historic Drovers Road By-Way travels through the mountain narrows along the floor of a steep river gorge as it winds along an ancient riverbed surrounded by wilderness beauty and natural wonders. From there the road ascends a mountain slope before crossing its gap and descending into the beautiful broad mountain valley interior of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Drovers Road; originally considered an early turnpike, is a natural access into the interior of the Blue Ridge Mountains for drovers who were moving livestock, mostly flocks of turkeys and some geese, herds of hogs and some cattle in and out of the mountains to the markets.