Southeast - Pigeon Forge, TN questions

My extended family is going there for a week next month and I'm debating what to do. I can get a ride and not bring my bike down, which will be nice not to drive with bikes on the roof for 8 hours, but it leaves me bikeless.


Is there good biking there? Road? Mountain?
Is there a good place to rent bikes there?


Any info would be appreciated...thanks!

-Jeff

Your post is a bit vague. Have you ever been in the area? What kind of riding interests you? How far do you want to go?

Nearby, there's some nice road biking outside of Pigeon Forge toward Maryville/Alcoa.

I don't have a mountain bike and I've never looked to rent a bike, so I can't help much there. My sense is that it may be difficult finding a good road bike in Pigeon Forge.

I normally try to avoid the tourist trap known as Sevier County, but Cades Cove in the National Park is closed to cars from Sunrise to 10am on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

Here is a little bit of information: http://www.yoursmokies.com/smokiesbiking.html

I normally try to avoid the tourist trap known as Sevier County, but Cades Cove in the National Park is closed to cars from Sunrise to 10am on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

Here is a little bit of information: http://www.yoursmokies.com/smokiesbiking.html

Just past Cades cove is Townsend and Maryville. Check out http://www.cycologybicycles.com/Cycology_Bicycles/Home.html great store and they have a lot of routes in the area. Foothills parkway and roads around there are great. On the other side out of Gatlinburg 441 to Newfoundland gap has a lot of traffic but it's a great climb. Not too bad if you do it early. And from there to Clingmans Dome is awesome.

Thanks for the info...

in a perfect world, I'd love to get a couple 25-40 mile road bike rides in
most likely I'll go with some family members on the Cades Cove ride

if anyone knows a place to rent a road bike, it would be a big help

thanks again
-Jeff

We were in the Park about 3 wks ago and they were doing a lot of road
resurfacing, taking advantage of 'stimulus money'. Cades Cove has
just been resurfaced but Clingman's dome road is in progress and I
believe closed for another month or so. If you have any thoughts of
riding in the park check out their website for details. The main road
between Pigeon Forge and Townsend would be a death trap for bikes
as you have a VERY narrow twisty section at both ends with nowhere
for the heavy car traffic to go and blind turns. A google search may
show some alternative routes, One other closure I forgot is the
Gatlinburg bypass into the park, makes the drive through G'burg
even more of a hassle. OTOH a bike ride from Sugarlands to Cades
Cove, around the loop and back is about 60 miles and the car traffic
in the park is not too bad, better than 441 through the park. This
is well worth doing. Snacks can be had at Cades Cove camp store.
My experience on the Cades Cove loop is that bikes can easily maneuver
around the cars and are generally faster through the loop. Wildlife
viewing is best early, but occurs through out the day. Getting there at
8am from Pigeon Forge would be a long drive.

My experience on the Cades Cove loop is that bikes can easily maneuver
around the cars

Incorrect (unless they widened it during the repaving). I recommend riding there when there is as little traffic as possible (e.g., early morning). The more cars clogging up the road, the worse it gets.

I don't know of anywhere in the area to rent a decent road bike, but I always take mine with me. There are plenty of less traveled roads to ride, and some good climbing too.

Personally, I would drive over to the other side of Smoky Mtn National Park and catch the Blue Ridge Parkway. It starts between the park and Cherokee (Cherokee is a zoo that I would skip as well).

A little bit south of where you will be is the Cherohala Skyway, another nice option. Expect climbs on either the parkway or the skyway, or most anywhere else in Eastern TN/Western NC.


thrifty bill
waynesville, nc