Cherohala River Road

To be honest, Bike Ride Across Tennessee was a disappointment. I'll have more to say in another post about what I thought could have been better. What was outstanding though was a rode that another ride showed me that wasn't even on the official route. On Day 5, our route took us through Tellico Plains, TN. Here, a group of 3 of us (including the rider who had told us about this road) veered off the official course and road 10 miles up the Cherohala River Road to Bald River Falls. It was outstanding. I liked it so much that I skipped the last day of BAT and came back to do the ride again, but this time going all the way to the North Carolina State Line.

Here is the route from bikemap.net

Bike route 711456 - powered by Bikemap

You start out in Tellico Plains. And the place to start is the Tellico Grains Bakery. Fantastic breads baked onsite are just outstanding. And when done with your ride, stop back for a sandwich. Five stars all the way.

A quick right on Highway 360 and then you wil see a sign for the Cherohala Skyway, and this is what you will follow. Soon you are pedaling past a river on your left. The scenery is outstanding as the pictures below illustrate. At about mile 5, the road comes to a Y. The road going left has a sign that says "Indian Boundary". If you want to take the Cherohala to Robbinsville, NC, this is the way to go. Both days I stayed right and kept following the river.

About mile 10, you will get to Bald River Falls. There is a car park and this is a good place to get off and snap photos of the falls. Even in the fall of what has been a dry season, they are beautiful.

From here is is about 13 more miles to the NC state line. You continue to follow the river the whole way. You will pass several campsites along the way. There is a small town too about mile 16 if you need any water. When you are getting close to the top, there is also a fish hatchery. In many places, the trees form a thick canopy over the road, so even though the sun shines brightly, you are in cool, dark shade. Always following the river, water is splashing over rocks, forming little falls as it makes its way downstream.

The road is generally uphill, but nowhere steep. It averages about 100 feet of elevation gain per mile, which is less than a 2% average grade. There are some places where it is probably about 4%, but nowhere is this a difficult climb.

The top of the road is the North Carolina State Line. There is no sign though, the only way you know is that you are at the top and the pavement changes. Just after you cross into NC, the road changes to dirt, so you cannot link up with the Cherohala and do a loop. Its OK though, the ride down is past the same pretty river. Some rides you don't mind being out and back.

What follows are pictures I took on the two days riding the road.