Cameodon
Well-known member
Recommend RT 19, 74 or The Blue Ridge?
Asheville to Cherokee N.C...
- Thread starter Cameodon
- Start date
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phil-t
Well-known member
What are you driving/towing?
Cameodon
Well-known member
5th wheel with a big truck..
CharlesinGA
Well-known member
While you didn't say here, I went back and looked at your previous posts to see you have a 2021 CAMEO 5th wheel. Looking at specs, they are all 13 ft 3 in high except for a couple that are 13 ft 1 inch.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is not the place to be hauling a big rig for far. There are 17 tunnels between Ashville and Cherokee. At the south end, from the interchange with US 19 to the end there are the lowest tunnels of all that are on the Parkway, in the middle of the road way they are 18 or 19 ft but four in particular stand out as very low on the edgeline height, Pinnacle Ridge at 13 ft 7 in, Lickstone Ridge at 11ft 8 in., Bunches Bald at 12 ft 3 in, and Big Witch at 11 ft 7 in. These tunnels are anywhere from 290 to 859 ft in length and almost all are curved so you cannot see one end from the other. The parkway is not a wide road either, I think it is 20 ft total with 10 ft lanes, not your standard 12 ft lanes of today.
Ashville is at about 2300 ft elevation and its a steady climb to over 5000 ft at Mt Pisgah and the highest point on the entire parkway is 6053 at a point about 7 miles north of the US 74 interchange (which is much lower elevation) then you climb again and beyond US 19 you have an ear popping decent down to about 2300 ft or so at Cherokee.
Tunnels - Blue Ridge Parkway
Basically you can scratch the Parkway for that reason and several others..............
I have towed a 21 ft trailer from Cherokee to the Parkway on US 19 (and then back down the parkway to a campground south of the US 19 interchange) and it was not fun. The road on the tribal land is narrow with no shoulders in most places and guard rails right up close to the asphalt. To get to the campgrounds at Balsam and Mile High I now drive up and down the parkway to avoid US 19.
With a rig as large as yours, I highly suggest US 74, as it is a much better road, though a longer route.
Charles
The Blue Ridge Parkway is not the place to be hauling a big rig for far. There are 17 tunnels between Ashville and Cherokee. At the south end, from the interchange with US 19 to the end there are the lowest tunnels of all that are on the Parkway, in the middle of the road way they are 18 or 19 ft but four in particular stand out as very low on the edgeline height, Pinnacle Ridge at 13 ft 7 in, Lickstone Ridge at 11ft 8 in., Bunches Bald at 12 ft 3 in, and Big Witch at 11 ft 7 in. These tunnels are anywhere from 290 to 859 ft in length and almost all are curved so you cannot see one end from the other. The parkway is not a wide road either, I think it is 20 ft total with 10 ft lanes, not your standard 12 ft lanes of today.
Ashville is at about 2300 ft elevation and its a steady climb to over 5000 ft at Mt Pisgah and the highest point on the entire parkway is 6053 at a point about 7 miles north of the US 74 interchange (which is much lower elevation) then you climb again and beyond US 19 you have an ear popping decent down to about 2300 ft or so at Cherokee.
Tunnels - Blue Ridge Parkway
Basically you can scratch the Parkway for that reason and several others..............
I have towed a 21 ft trailer from Cherokee to the Parkway on US 19 (and then back down the parkway to a campground south of the US 19 interchange) and it was not fun. The road on the tribal land is narrow with no shoulders in most places and guard rails right up close to the asphalt. To get to the campgrounds at Balsam and Mile High I now drive up and down the parkway to avoid US 19.
With a rig as large as yours, I highly suggest US 74, as it is a much better road, though a longer route.
Charles
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Cameodon
Well-known member
Thanks Charles, this is exactly the info I was looking for. I have traveled the other way with a smaller TT, 33ft and a couple thousand lbs lighter. Not at all concerned with the weight or guardrails especially, although the wife would smell up the truck!!! Lol However the overpasses are definitely the deal breaker with me. While 74 was longer it was low stress, I like that. Although I have always wanted to do the Parkway and 19 they might make a nice day trip someday with no trailer from Cherokee?
Thanks again Charles!
Thanks again Charles!
