1. Cherohala Skyway
Cherohala Skyway, stretching through the mountains of North Carolina and forests of Tennessee, offers motorbike riders a serene escape from bustling tourist hotspots. Less crowded than its famous neighbor, the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala provides a 43-mile journey characterized by sweeping curves and breathtaking vistas.
The absence of commercial interruption allows for uninterrupted connection with nature. Elevated overlooks provide panoramic views that promise revitalization and a fresh perspective. Despite its beauty, Cherohala remains relatively underexplored, making it an ideal ride for those seeking solace on the open road with occasional encounters with like-minded adventurers. With its smooth tarmac and varying elevations, the route caters to a meditative ride, where one can truly absorb the tranquil majesty of America's landscapes.
2. Moonshiner 28
Tracing its name from the clandestine culture of the Prohibition era, Moonshiner 28 unfurls as a path steeped in folklore and edged by natural splendor. This 103-mile journey winds through the twists and valleys from North Carolina, heads south into Georgia, and concludes in South Carolina.
Not just a historical escapade, Moonshiner 28 offers an experience enriched with striking mountain vistas, the soothing ambiance of waterfalls, and an array of roadside attractions that invite exploration. Every mile reveals a scene worthy of stopping – be it to admire cascading waters like the Soco Falls or unpacking the layers of history in small towns.
For enthusiasts of cultural experiences mixed with adventure, hanging a hammock at one of the lakefront campsites provides a restful endpoint to a day's ride. The route also indulges the senses through its pockets of distilleries, where the daring can sample legal versions of the once-hidden moonshine. These spots offer more than spirits; they share stories of the secretive past and the art of Appalachian distilling.
With its combination of natural beauty, rich history, and a tinge of rebellion, Moonshiner 28 stands as a token of real Americana. Each rush of the wind whispers secrets of the past, positioning Moonshiner 28 as more than just a ride—it's a passage through time, flanked by endless forests and the allure of discovery.
3. Beartooth Highway
Straddling the wilderness along the Montana and Wyoming border, the Beartooth Highway is a breathtaking journey. Across 68 miles of magnificent mountain landscape, motorbike riders will find themselves maneuvering hairpin turns and traversing elevations reaching great heights.
Branded as one of the most beautiful drives in America, the Beartooth Highway commands startling beauty that envelopes an array of vibrant wildlife and panoramic views of untouched glacial lakes and vast blooming meadows. Riding this highway offers an exhilarating burst of adrenalin coupled with panoramic vistas that give you a bird's eye view of sheer natural magnificence.
Operational typically from Memorial Day through mid-October, this seasonal path dives into state transitions seamlessly from the sturdy, profound plains touring up to Rock Creek Vista Point, urging motorcyclists to lean into each swirl of the road. Seasons leave unique signatures here:
- Breathtaking blooms during early summers
- Fiery colors through autumn
Each turn intensifies the devotion to outdoors that this route evokes.
Passing quaint towns like Red Lodge and Cooke City — which complement this rugged journey with a soft touch of civilization, offering warm nooks for hearty meals and local tales— adds layers of culture to your adventure. These towns embody the steadfast spirit of intimacy with nature and significant value in recovery after days spent traversing high altitudes.
Navigating Beartooth is a test of courage and meditative tranquility, a dynamic duet danced between rider and landscape, carving firm memories in both tires and spirits. An unstoppable suggestion of immense singularity, this highway creates narratives of awe comparable with the stupendous backdrops connecting riders intimately to the artery of the Great Rocky Wilderness.
4. Peak-to-Peak Highway
Venturing to the heart of Colorado's landscape on the iconic Peak-to-Peak Highway begins as a carousel of nature's own artwork along a sublime 60-mile route. Revered for fringing some of the most awe-inspiring spectacles spanning from unending forestry to the expanse of Rocky Mountains' crags and cirques, this trail resonates with a captivating call for riders both seasoned and green.
Riding from Black Hawk to Estes Park, motorcyclists are treated to the flourishing variety that characterizes Colorado's ecological beauty. It involves an experience where every curve articulates tales of the stark wilderness met thoughtful preservation, letting bikers feel the whisper of the wind that carries stories from the peaks to the placid Estes lake.
A sensory blast of golden aspens flutters through clear alpine air through autumn, embroidered with arresting views that capture seasons slipping by. Spring and summer illuminate the regions thick with florid bouquets, both wild and groomed, as gracious hosts such as moose, foxes, and countless avian life hold parlays amid context of sporadic magenta fireweed blooms.
While revving past the cascades, there's an invitation to unabashedly lose track of technological motes, letting iPhone tell time by sunlight and dusty compass. Graduating upward from three thousand feet mirrors an escalatory odyssey toward crisp fresher revelations per contracting elevation.
Estes Park itself unwraps with an airy embrace, quaintness conjoined to an allure that shares licks of earlier Rockies sojourners and current-day lovers of artisan serait faire. Local brews come served with roaring fire tales, productive choruses postured around as intervention for modern renewal.
The Peak-to-Peak Highway bolsters its allure without overly decreeing tourist tropes into essential navigation qualms—an initiation to skip ostentation while respecting geographical yields promising mild from warmer sidetracks. Along storied path presents not just a ride, but a broad palette of life-affirming thoughts and frolic contextualized charm between slowing ferments while galloping along grand venues sculpted long by earthen dialogues still speckling untamed voices whisper promise across time.
5. The Tail of the Dragon
Often whispered about among motorbike circles, revered in the annals of two-wheeled legends, and popped into conversations at greasy biker hangouts, it stands as a journey that pulses with adrenaline-laden nostalgia. Coiling through 318 curves over just 11 miles, its sinuous path carves a place in hearts passionate enough to tackle it.
Bordering the forested expanse of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, The Tail of the Dragon (or simply 'the Dragon' to the initiated) offers more than just a path—it crafts a challenge for motorbikes and the souls daring enough to steer them. As you approach it, it dares with a gaze as piercing as a basilisk, insisting on astute attention and precision, where each turn ignites the exhilaration bicyclists dream about.
Not just entwined with nature's spectacle—where greens blur and dance around you—it dances a duet with danger, seducing with the peril of arcane twists and dappled shade patterns that play tricks on your eyes under motley Appalachian sunlight. On The Dragon, lore amalgamates with today's thrill.
Yet, enlightenment harshly strokes those unhealed thrill seekers who boast but dull their sharpness; The Tail of the Dragon has humbled many with its tight twirls and plunging crests, which require vigour even under helmet shadows. Local landmarks like the notoriously cold "Gravity Cavity" or the sharp "Copperhead Corner" gift names which loom back through hollow vows.
Adorned with pit stops paying homage to its thematic idolatry, like Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort, The Tail of the Dragon annexes comradery knit firm with the ether of fielded repose rest breaks cuddled within mercantile trinket troughs or cycle-tinkering boast barns. And when that final triumphant curve flattens out—it's often matched with cold overtures both brewed and drafted, recounting riotous cackles crystallized closely chest kept as badges wound upon throttle hearts determinations sweetened more with each recalled ledge embrace.
In cruising The Tail of the Dragon, prepare not only your bike but enshrine your vigour—dare to taste the venom it weaves in spectral laps laid lunging trail ebbed tires tracks scripting vestige meld chronicles secured under Smoky canopy escorted remembrance. Seal your pact with this legendary path—your mettle tested, your mythology secured.
- American Motorcyclist Association. AMA Great Roads. American Motorcyclist. 2019;73(5):52-57.
- Motorcycle Roads. Top 100 Motorcycle Roads in the US. Motorcycle Roads. https://motorcycleroads.com/top-roads/top-100-motorcycle-roads-in-the-us.
- National Park Service. Beartooth Highway. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/beartoothhighway.htm.
- Ride The Rockies. Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. Ride The Rockies. https://www.ridetherockies.com/peak-to-peak-scenic-byway/.
- Smoky Mountain Rides. The Dragon. Smoky Mountain Rides. https://smokymountainrides.com/tail-of-the-dragon/.
