Ride the Dual Roads of Roan Mountain State Park—TN 143 and NC 261

In our Classic Roads articles, we typically highlight a specific enjoyable motorcycling road in the U.S., or sometimes elsewhere in the world. This time, though, I’ll be talking about two roads. It’s cats living with dogs, complete anarchy!

Well, the situation’s not quite so bad—the two roads form one continuous, scenic, and fun 25-mile motorcycling route. We’re talking about North Carolina SR 261 and Tennessee SR 143, which stretch through the Roan Mountain State Park.

The southern end of this ride is in Bakersville, NC, where SR 261 branches off of SR 662. You’ll start the ride on a curvy rural road, passing sprawling farmland as you gradually ascend in altitude.

Once you pass Hidden Creek, the climb gets steeper, and you begin to run into some serious twists. This is among the curviest rides in the Southeast, so make sure your cornering skills are honed.

Around the halfway point of the route, you’ll pass the state line at Carvers Gap at an altitude of 5,512 feet. From here, Tennessee SR 143 begins a rather steep descent from the mountain in certain places.

The curves don’t let up, though, and you get to enjoy one thrilling turn after another until the woods spit you out roughly 20 miles into the ride. The rest of the route is made of a chill rural two-laner that finally terminates at the town of Roan Mountain.

Together, NC SR 261 and TN SR 143 make for an exciting all-paved riding experience that suits virtually any bike. The turns are moderately challenging but not too difficult, so even not-so-experienced bikers can complete this ride as long as they ride cautiously.