Dont know how much time your taking on your trip, but between Asheville and bristol sits the Great Smoky Mtns National Park. The most visited park in the U.S. Then there is of course Biltmore House and gardens in Asheville, the largest privatetly owned home in the U.S. It should be in spring trim right about now. It has been open to the public for decades now though, and takes a solid day to tour the house alone.

There is also the Blue Ridge Parkway running from Cherokee N.C.(southwest of Asheville) up to the Shenandoah valley in Virginia. This route will lead you past Grandfather Mountain which has a mile high swinging bridge and is skirted on one side by a marvel of modern construction the Linn Cove Viaduct.You can take this route and get to Bristol by way of Virginia.

Lots and lots of drop dead gorgeous views and plenty of natural wonders between these two spots.

Doug

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Ridge Parkway

In Asheville itself, you MUST go to Biltmore. If you're into nurseries, you should also stop by BB Barnes nursery. As for the rest of the trip, I don't know the sights between Asheville and Bristol -- but you ought to have a beautiful drive in any case!

If I were you, I'd drop by Doug & Bec's house in Knoxville for Lunch and take a tour of their gardens and then hit Cheryl's place going through Seymour for Supper and tour her gardens!!!

For a quiet and restfull day in the beauty of the Foothills of the Smokies, it's always nice to stay in Bryson City, NC. We vacation there every year for at least a week, sometimes two!

So that you are not confused. The Great Smoky Mountains are NOT on the way from Asheville to Bristol. They are within 50 miles and maybe worth a look if you have plenty of time and don't mind the horrendous traffic(most visited park) and frequent ozone alerts.

Asheville to Tri-Cities (Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol) uses I-26. Someone must be thinking of I-40 which is about 50 miles further south and the way through the mountains to Knoxville.

You did not mention that you might like to plant shop along the way. I could suggest a few interesting nurseries not far off I-26 if you are interested.

In Asheville no one mentioned the North Carolina Botanical gardens, which is still on my list of places to visit. From what I can gather it specializes in colder climate plants such as conifers, rhododendrons and azaleas. Biltmore is a turn of the century estate built by the Vanderbilts with a castle like home and thousands of acres surrounding it. There are very formal gardens. It is a bit pricey as I recall ~$35-40 per person....but worth the day it will take to visit.

If just beautiful scenery un-interrupted by billboards and fastfood is your thing, you might try hopping on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the N.C. Botanical garden and following the crest of the mountains up to Boone, NC. Boone is a charming little mountain town with a good variety of interesting cafes and restaurants. Probably the oldest is the Daniel Boone Inn downtown, with homestyle food served at large tables, multiple guests and large lazy susans in the tables.

Boone also has a small but lovely gardens with mostly natives and spring blooming plants.

The trip from Boone to Bristol is through beautiful mountains and over many ridges with some narrow and winding roads....not a road for high profile vehicles like campers or Rv's.

If you choose to follow the Blue Ridge Parkway, you must definitely look at one of the several websites for conditions. Hurricane remnants two years ago wiped out sections of the road that will be very difficult and expensive to replace....as they hug narrow mountain dropoffs in places. When I was there last summer they had not all been completed making it difficult to get from point A to point B. Hopefully they'll be repaired by now. Even if they are not, they are well worth exploring even if you have to turn around and backtrack. There are lots of waterfalls; places where you can stop for 30 minute to 2 hour hikes; restored colonial farms and homes; clean air and so much silence that you hear the bees buzz; and wonderful wildflower and rhodendron blooms all along the way in mid spring and early summer.....a strong reminder of what we have done to so much of the rest of this country.

Most of the places I mentioned have websites.

Enjoy your visit.

Hey ya'll,
Thanks for all the info. I'm so excited about our
visit. This will be our first long trip on the
bike. We have been repairing our home after
hurricane Katrina so it will be a well deserved
break. Big orange, who are Doug & Bec and Cheryl?
Are they bed and breakfast or fellow gardeners
homes? Sorry if that's a stupid question. I don't
usually log on to this forum so I'm not familar
with the other gardeners on this forum. Thanks
for all the info. Hope your all doing well and
you have a blessed weekend. It's in the low 80's
here and we've had very little rain. The garden
is looking good and I've even picked a few
veggies and herbs. I'll keep in touch.
Thanks again.

Brenda
Harvey, LA

I'm sorry Brenda, I was having a little fun at their expense. Doug and Bec are Intimidator 3 and Cannahavanna. Cheryl is SmokyMist. They are fellow TN gardeners and forum members as well as wonderful folks that live in East TN.

Just after I posted my last message there was a news report indicating the Blue Ridge Parkway has just reopened.

You don't say which kind of bike you will be on---the one with pedals like I ride, or the motorized kind----but you will enjoy the parkway with either kind....and you will find company of both kinds.