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DEPARTMENTS >> The Ride
From the March/April 2005 Issue |
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THE NORTH CAROLINA FALLS LOOP:
See Movie Sites Too!
By Rodger Doss & Carol Yopp
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Motorcycle mentality (never go back the way you came) requires a travel loop. And here’s a great one through the Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Brevard, and Tryon areas of North Carolina.
Starting in Rutherfordton, we traveled west on U.S. 64. Approaching Lake Lure, we rode alongside River Creek. There are rental homes and cabins along the river. Lake Lure is not a huge lake, but it offers excursions and a beach. And sooner or later someone will mention that parts of the movie “Dirty Dancing” were filmed on the site. We decided to stay at the venerable Lake Lure Inn, a hotel built in 1927. It’s a great old place and looks out over the lake. Margarittaville Pub is next door, and in-season you’ll see dozens of bikes parked there.
A stone’s throw away is Chimney Rock, where part of the movie “The Last of the Mohicans” was filmed. Chimney Rock is a huge rock bluff. Scaffolding built along the rock provides trails to the waterfall featured in the beginning of the film. At night, the falls are strikingly illuminated. At the foot of Chimney Rock lies Chimney Rock Village and its assortment of shops and restaurants. Broad River flows through the village, and if you get there soon enough, you can get a seat on the porch of the restaurant, where you can dine by the river.
The Chimney Rock elevator shaft, built in 1949, is as tall as a football field is long (100 yards), and the tunnel access to the shaft is 198 feet long. There are stairs, also, if you would rather climb.
U.S. 64 leads through the community of Bat Cave and up the mountain to Hendersonville. It’s a rustic, winding road and perfect for motorcycle travel.
Brevard, in Transylvania County, is known as The Land of the Waterfalls, with 250 falls within its boundaries. Some can be reached by hiking, but many are just by the roadside. Take U.S. 276 to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see two of the best with little or no effort – Looking Glass Falls and Slick Rock Falls. The visitor center has information.
The next morning, we were regaled with ghost stories over coffee in the lobby of the hotel. Supposedly, three ghosts reside in the Lake Lure Hotel.
It was cool and foggy when we left the next morning. Following U.S. 176 to historic Saluda was a wonderful experience. It was a crooked, beautiful ride suggested to us by a winsome lass at the Backstreet Grille in Hendersonville. By all means, take in Pearson’s Falls, just off 176. It’s a quarter-mile walk to the falls, and the walk is as good as the falls themselves.
Tryon is a wonderful culture-filled area – theater, music and fine art. Check the visitor center for details.
We stopped for a visit with our friends at the Stone Hedge Inn to see the unusual rock structures that house the facilities. Then we pointed the nose of the motorcycle toward Rutherfordton.
This loop can easily be done in one day or two days or a lifetime depending on the interest generated.
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