Cherohala on Labor Day Weekend?

So how bad would the Cherohala be on Labor Day Weekend (Saturday)? Looking for a good route over the mountains from somewhere south of Cherokee, NC towards the Chatanooga area. Looks like it's either Cherohala or stay on US 74/64.

Cherohala on Labor Day Weekend

The skyway will be busy but I'd rather be there than US 129. You might check the University of Tennessee football schedule to see if they are playing at home or if NASCAR has a race over the weekend. Sometimes those events draw some riders away from the mountains.
Both routes you mention are nice rides but 74/64 will probably have lots of Nantahala rafting traffic near the gorge. Sometimes drivers can be a bit absent minded about pulling off or slowing way down in that area.

gmenglhart said:

...74/64 will probably have lots of Nantahala rafting traffic near the gorge.

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that is guaranteed.

Sometimes drivers can be a bit absent minded about pulling off or slowing way down in that area.

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sometimes?

gmenglhart - where is "somewhere south of Cherokee, NC?"

ian

My favorite return from the Sky Way

The skyway Hwy 165 ends in Tellico Planes at Hwy 68. Turn right on Hwy 68 for about a half mile and turn left on Mecca Pike route 39 and follow it a few miles to Reliance Tellico Rd Route 315. Turn left on Reliance Tellico road and follow it till you cross the Hiwassee River and turn left on Hwy 30 to Hwy. 64 turn right and that will take you to Cleveland, TN and you can take a choice of routes to Chattanooga. These are rural roads that are in good condition with some good twists and turns. If you try it please share your thoughts.

01RedRider said:

The skyway Hwy 165 ends in Tellico Planes at Hwy 68. Turn right on Hwy 68 for about a half mile and turn left on Mecca Pike route 39 and follow it a few miles to Reliance Tellico Rd Route 315. Turn left on Reliance Tellico road and follow it till you cross the Hiwassee River and turn left on Hwy 30 to Hwy. 64 turn right and that will take you to Cleveland, TN and you can take a choice of routes to Chattanooga. These are rural roads that are in good condition with some good twists and turns. If you try it please share your thoughts.

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Noted for my next trip up that way- thanks!

I think the Cherohala is great anytime. You will enjoy the trip and make sure you begin or end your trip in some of the super restaurants and bike shops in Tellico Plains. Its my favorite places to be. You won't make a mistake by riding the parkway.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Yes, I rode that 39 and 315 route last time on the way back from the Cherohala to pick up 411 headed south. It was a great stretch of road, certainly one worth repeating.

Somewhere south of Cherokee is the southern terminus of the BRP. We will be heading south on the BRP and I didn't want to take 441 across and deal with Little River Rd and I certainly wasn't going to take 129 across.

I was worried about squids and traffic on the Cherohala that weekend, but I'm currently leaning that way and thinking about taking 39 across to Athens, then work my way over the top of Chatanooga to where I need to be west of town.

Any day is a good day to ride the Skyway.

Except when there is ice......

JOHNQUEEN said:

I think the Cherohala is great anytime.

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Yep- I even enjoyed it the time I did it in the rain at night, with everything above about 3500 inside the cloud. I could only go about 7 mph inside the cloud to keep the reflective dots- the only thing I could see in the whiteout- lined up in front of me, but I still had a blast!

Skyway

Planning on being over there myself that weekend......got my fingers crossed about the traffic situation

R1200GS