Western NC: 176 Between Saluda and Tryon

[goBoating]

'Spent the last half of last week in western NC and had the chance to explore for some fun driving and found one stretch that was worth hitting. Hwy 176 between Saluda NC and Tryon goes down through a river gorge paralleling the river and hugging vertical rock walls.Trees were just barely starting to turn. Air was cool, crisp, and clear. It was about 5 or 6 miles long with a lot of short straights and nicely banked switch-backs. The down hill lane was a single lane, but, I did not catch anyone so it was clear sailing. The up hill lanes have passing areas every mile or so. I caught a few cars on the up hill run but the passing lanes came up quickly and I was again in 2nd gear pulling past the slow pokes and carving curves. The rock walls give a nice effect of bouncing the turbo whine back at ya'. Pulling through 2nd gear repeatedly sounded great. Fun drive. I expect there are some more like it in that general vecinity. Anyone know of any other fun runs in that area? I know the vaunted 'Tail of the Dragon' is TN, north of this area, but, it is a little far. I'll have to do a little more exploring next time I'm up that way.

[ssnataku]

I'm in asheville nc and i can say hwy176 is a fun ride. If you ever have a chance to come up to asheville Town Mountain rd. is worth checking out. It is loaded with curves to test out our awd. After about 6-8miles it runs into the blue ridge parkway which is also some good driving. Be careful if you hit the parkway for the law though cause its state owned property. Hit me up if your ever in my parts of wnc.

[goBoating]

I'm in asheville nc and i can say hwy176 is a fun ride. If you ever have a chance to come up to asheville Town Mountain rd. is worth checking out. It is loaded with curves to test out our awd. After about 6-8miles it runs into the blue ridge parkway which is also some good driving. Be careful if you hit the parkway for the law though cause its state owned property. Hit me up if your ever in my parts of wnc.

Sounds nice. My family has a house near Tryon. We hit Asheville and Hendersonville doing the tourist thing from time to time. I'll try to break an hour or so free when we're up that way to do Town Moutain Rd. I'm a little jealous of your driving opportunities. In Charleston, the best curves are usually interstate clover leafs and they're generally don't lead one into the next. The mountains cause the road design to produce so many fun/drivable roads.

Are you familiar with 176 North of Saluda? The part near Saluda parallels the rail road and is fairly straight. But, on a map it appears to lead to some nice squigglies. But, maps can be decieving.

[wireedm]

Okay Guys,

I'm from Hendersonville and the best place to open up the Subees is Hwy 225, aka Greenville watershed road locally. It is essentially old 25 and starts at the top of the hill at Bobs Creek Rd off 25 and ends at the bottom back on 25 in SC. Wonderful sweepers, tighties, and a couple of long straights. It's even better on your sport bike. You may see 1 or 2 cars on a busy day, but be aware of any bikers.

Another is Hwy 176 between Rosman (Hwy 64) and Hwy 11.
Then there is Caesar's Head (Hwy 276).

All of these I would definitely recommend for the curvies.

[goBoating]

Okay Guys,

I'm from Hendersonville and the best place to open up the Subees is Hwy 225, aka Greenville watershed road locally. It is essentially old 25 and starts at the top of the hill at Bobs Creek Rd off 25 and ends at the bottom back on 25 in SC. Wonderful sweepers, tighties, and a couple of long straights. It's even better on your sport bike. You may see 1 or 2 cars on a busy day, but be aware of any bikers.

Another is Hwy 176 between Rosman (Hwy 64) and Hwy 11.
Then there is Caesar's Head (Hwy 276).

All of these I would definitely recommend for the curvies.

Cool. All of those are within pretty quick driving distances from our family place in Western NC.

Question: Are you sure you meant '176' between Rosman and Hwy. 11? Did you mean '178'? Hwy 176 is a little further west, I think, over through Tryon, Saluda, and Hendersonville. Is this where you mean?
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...,0.425377&om=1


Thanks for the drives.
Hwy 25 looks like a nice run on maps.google.com.

[wireedm]

Oh yes, sorry for the typo

It is Hwy 178 between Rosman and Hwy 11.

[goBoating]

I made it to Western NC last weekend and made it over to Old Hwy 25 through the Greenville watershed (suggested above). The road is great, BUT, there were tons of cyclists, a few motor cycles, and tons of bicycles. The ride was gorgeous and fun but, it was never safe to push the Rex much due to the bikes. Apparently, there is a lot of cycling traffic all the way from Furman University. Hwy 25 runs across the back gate of the campus.

[goBoating]

I'm still exploring for roads in NC south of Asheville. Is any one familiar with Holbert Cove Road near Saluda, NC. If you leave Saluda on hwy 176 (south or east)to Ozone Drive, go north on Ozone Drive under I-26, Holbert Cove Road is on the right heading off to the north east. See http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=15...44761&t=h&om=1

On maps.google.com, it appears to have a nice shape and goes through what appears to be a fairly sparcely populated area once you get away from the interstate. Anyone up that was driven that road? Is the surface decent? Is it a popular bicycling trek?

[wireedm]

Yes, you have to pick your days on old 25. The weekends can get lots of 2-wheel traffic. The best time to go is during the weekdays, especially if it's cold.