On April 5, 2001 Nancy and I had a great day of riding. We took the KLRs over the Dragon and then across the Foothills Parkway into Townsend. In September of 2007 we revisited this route CLICK HERE

We then headed for the dreaded Cades Cove ... where traffic can be so bad you want to go back to the city! We were pleasantly surprised to find only a few tourists making the loop. What an enjoyable ride this is when the crowds are still at home. It is amazing how much a place can change with a few hundred more vehicles.

Cades Cove was once a small, isolated community in a hidden valley deep in the Appalachian Mountain Range. Then the government came in and took all the land for the Smoky Mountain National Park. I still get a twinge of regret for those displaced settlers as I make the loop, but at least there are no Wal-Marts and McDonalds there now.

The 11 mile loop is single-lane and one-way with a 20 mph speed limit. There are usually gawkers stopping in the middle of the road to look at rabbits, deer, squirrels, and woodchucks. There are families of bicyclists who ride like they all just finished taking lessons. There are the photographers walking into the road as they are totally distracted trying to get pictures of a nearby grazing deer. You must be careful making the loop and dodge these dangers.

When the crowds are absent there is probably no place better to calm your nerves. The road twists through vast fields of grazing deer with the Smoky Mountains looking like a painted backdrop in the distance. There are old churches, cabins, and graveyards from another era. Bring a kite, a book, a picnic, or just find a place to lie in the meadow and forget the world.

There are three ways out of Cades Cove. The usual exit is to make the entire loop and return to Little River Road which connects Townsend and Gatlinburg.

There is a one-way short-cut about a third of the way around which leads out to Townsend. Rich Mountain Road has about 5 miles of gravel and 7 miles of twisting paved road. We found the first part of this route with lots of new gravel making for tricky riding. It is not very scenic (except for two overlooks of Cades Cove) or exciting, but this route does save about ten miles of bumper to bumper traffic when the crowds are present. You can take most of the loop and then cut across on either of the two connector roads to take this exit. It is well marked and will be on your right. This road is not for beginning riders. This road is closed during the winter months from November 16 to March 15.

There are 18 creek fords on this road. They are all concreted and easy to cross, but some are nearly a foot deep and might require extreme caution in bad weather. The Park Service closes the access gate at night, in extreme weather, and in the winter months. Camping is allowed in some places, but a permit is required from the Ranger Station. Check before taking this road. The road is uncrowded, scenic, exciting, and leads to the Dragon. What else could you want? Parsons Branch Road is not for the inexperienced rider. You can take most of the Cades Cove loop and then return to Parsons Branch via one of the crossover roads.

In September of 2007 we revisited this route CLICK HERE