Pigeon Forge to Grandfather Mt (Boone) NC

[Patnsuzanne]

We’ll be towing from Pigeon Forge over to Grandfather next week and want to avoid the I40 construction as well as the traffic around Asheville. The plan now is to go back up to I 81 to Johnson City, then over to Elizabethton and on down 19E through Roan Mt to ether Elk Park to Banner Elk and on over to Grandfather, or go on down to Newland and come up to Grandfather from the south. We’re familiar with the area around Grandfather, but have never taken that particular route to get there. Google maps and Earth show it to be a good road, but I’m hoping some of the forum members that have driven it (especially since Helene) could share their advice. Thanks in advance!

 

[CharlesinGA]

I would look at the NC DOT website and see if has any road info. I would also call the campground and ask them about roads in their area.

There is far too much damage in Western NC for me to want to visit this year. I usually visit Mt Pisgah but the Blue ridge parkway is closed due to landslides taking away parts of the roadway. I hope it gets fixed, it is a national treasure and I love being cool in the summer with no A/C needed.

There is a YouTube doing drone videos and discussion on specific locations, and he did one on the Ashville East KOA. It was totally washed away, they are rebuilding from scratch, new site loop wiring, plumbing, new admin bldg, everything new.

He also did one on the NC Arboretum at Ashville. No flood damage, but 10,000 trees, pushed over due to strong winds coming up the valley it sits in. I have visited there and it is a beautiful place.

Good luck on your trip.
Charles

 

[Patnsuzanne]

Thank you. We were in Grandfather last Sept and left there the day Helene came in. We were back again in November, and yes, the devastation was sever and widespread. NCDOT shows no issues along our proposed route in from the west now, although I know there were multiple closings in the aftermath of the storm.

 

[Patnsuzanne]

In case anyone else is planning to make this run, we went ahead and pulled it today, as planned. There was a detour at Elizabethton to get around a road closure, but other than that, the route is pretty typical of a secondary road through the mountains. The longer uphills had truck lanes, and there were lots of curves, but nothing too bad. We did get off at Elk Park and go on east to Banner Elk and I would recommend anybody in anything over 30 feet to just stay on 19E on down to Newland and Crosnore, then come on back north and east on 105 to Grandfather/Boone.