Be warned that many of these places are seasonal.
Please contact these folks a head of time to be sure that they are open.
Two Wheels Only (the Red dot) in Suches, Georgia is home to Frank and Jeannie Cheek. (They actually live out at their little airstrip up on US 180...) He runs a wonderful motorcycle only campground called TWO. Frank is a retired Eastern Airlines Pilot (like my Grandfather Buck) and now spends his time giving squids hell on his Kawasaki Voyager or chatting about riding/flying.
If you'd like to camp at TWO just show up, but if you want a room, get reservations (706-747-5151 or you can go to the T.W.O. home page for more particulars). The lodge has a very cozy feeling. It has a common bathroom area and three rooms upstairs. They have breakfast (plus fresh Coffee!!) but be prepared to get up at 8:00 (I think...) for it. They also has lunches and dinners. A gas station lies across the street. The camp-grounds are very nice, its got a large brook (or "Crick" as Frank calls it) running through. There are plenty of places to camp with fire pits spaced around. The fire/fat wood and other fiddly items are paid for on the honor system.
If you show up late at night (one-ish or beyond) just fill out a card from the box on the porch and find a camp spot. Frank will be around the next morning to see who's there. If he asks you who you are just say "thats my bike the 'Kamada' X000, she's with me, I'm camped over there next to tree/hut/aardvark/etc".
Note: Be forewarned about the roads around TWO. They're not called Blood Triangle for nothing. US 180 (marked in black and yellow on my map) is very tight and eats many bikes every year. US 19/129 is a wonderful road to ride up hill. Ga 60 is very scenic (use caution there too) and has a wonderful view. Watch out for Lumpkin County's Police. They like run radar traps on the Lumpkin Co. side of US 19/129. Also when in the Suches area, keep the revs down, Frank catches hell from some of his neighbors due to noise.
Cross Roads of Time (Site of the Annual Assault on Deals Gap ride) lies on the North Carolina side of Deals Gap in Tapoco. It is run by Peter and Doris Leary. The road that crosses into Tennessee from NC is US 129. Known as the "Dragon", US 129 has 318 curves in 11 miles of road. The area around is populated by various TVA dams that were built the twenties on. They make for some impressive scenery.
COT has a large number of Double Rooms (call 704-498-2231 for reservations). All have AC. There are very nice camping areas above the hotel rooms that run along the ridge behind COT. Pete also has a small gas station and store that he runs. One can also get beer late in the afternoons from the Dragon's Den, its a clubhouse on the hill over the bitel (bike hotel). If Pete has enough people he'll make a great meal of trout or steak for those that request ahead of time cost it around $12 and is worth it.
The Campgrounds have fresh-water nearby as well as a fire pit at each site. Some present a problem for riders to get a full dress touring bike to. (you should have seen Amy Spiker's Harley side-car wrig nestled down in her campsite...you also should have seen us pushing it out!!!) All the sites lay against the north side of the valley and runs around a shoulder of the north ridge. A brook runs along the low path of the valley. US 129 runs north west on the other facing ridge line and then behind on to the gap. This arrangement makes for an amazingly secluded camping area. Trees fill the area between the two ridge faces and very much isolate the camp grounds and muffle the noise from the road.
Note: Trucks (Semi's) will sometimes use the Gap as a place to inadvertently dump their loads. This can cause a problem as they take the whole damn road to make some of the turns. Be careful when running the Dragon.
Blue Ridge Cycle Camp is south of Cruso, North Carolina (704-235-8350). Another beautiful moto-only campground owned by Henry and Dee Hartsfield, BRCC has campsites and a few cabins. A large covered eating area houses a kitchen that serves a large delicious breakfast menu.
The campgrounds are very nice with some shade trees and as with COT and TWO, there is a large creek running near the camping area. Fires are restricted to the single large fire place. This campground is a bit more regimented than the others are.
So far I have not slept in any of the Cabins so I cannot convey my opinions(They looked to be quite nice), sorry...But I have asked about them. Henry and Dee have 8 cabins some having 2 twin beds, others having a single queen bed. There are also two Motel rooms that have Queen beds. They don't have AC, but considering the location it shouldn't be much of a problem.
Note: The Blue Ridge Parkway lies south of BRCC and is patroled by Federal Park Rangers. They are very strict about the 45 mph speed limit. I highly reccomend riding some or all of the BRP at some point.
If you are planning on traveling to North Ga and are looking for a cabin try this site for more info.
Tell me what you think of this page and or send me info on other great moto camp grounds. E-mail me at Ryan.Gill@emory.edu. If you go to one of the campgrounds tell them what you thought about the site.
