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Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Motorcycle

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park may be the most visited national park in all of the United States, but that doesn't mean the riding sucks.

Nestled on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the park serves as a scenic transition between the big cities of Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC. Tall old growth trees tower high above US-441 shading out the midday sun and creating a darkened, cool tunnel through ridge upon ridge of forest and waterfalls.

Sash and I left Knoxville, TN late in the morning on July 2, 2013, taking US-441 south through the resort towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg. We thought that Sevierville was overgrown with resorts, hotels, and chain restaurants, but waiting for us a few miles down the way was Pigeon Forge, a town that basically resembled Disneyland with a highway running through it.

The traffic in Pigeon Forge was absolutely horrid. Long lines of SUVs, Minivans, and RVs, chock-full of tourists and snot-nosed kids clogged up the highway, forcing traffic to a crawl while Sash and I roasted under the 90+ degree weather and humidity. I had never seen so many miniature golf courses, dinner theaters, ferris wheels, souvenir shops, go-kart tracks, and boat-rides crammed into a one-mile segment of road.

Yet only a few miles further away, supposedly, was pristine forest lands. How could "God's Country" be so close to such a pitiful, commercialized ocean of polo shirts and mom-jeans?

Just before the entrance to the National Park was Gatlinburg.

Gatlinburg seemed more like a mountain village that turned itself into a tourist trap, and then somehow overdosed on steroids and ended up looking like Hollywood Blvd meets Grizzly Adams. We stopped into the Smoky Mountain Brewery, at the recommendation of Garry, a guy we met earlier in Memphis at Boscos Squared, and sampled the brews and ate lunch. Karolina, the brewery's manager, remembered Garry, and treated us well, and made sure we had everything we needed.

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US-441 finally leaves the tourist-chaos of Gatlinburg and rushes into a more serene, relaxed, zenful experience of Mother Nature. It was like those old television commercials where a guy had just spent the afternoon laying asphalt on the road, then picked up a glass of Nestea and fell backwards into a swimming pool. It was that stark of a transition from crass-commercialized tourist trap to the simple beauty of protected forest land.

For the most part, the highway takes a meandering course up and over the Southern Appalachians, through a dozen tunnels, and offers spectacular views of valleys and canyons. Traffic starts out heavy at Gatlinburg, but eventually thins out as tourists pull off the road to visit the many exhibits and visitor centers.

The riding is largely easy. National park lands all have moderate speed limits, while the curves are more wide and well suited for beginning motorcycle riders. You wouldn't want to ride too fast on the roads anyway, or else missing much of the beauty of the Appalachias.

And the best part of riding through Great Smoky Mountain National Park.... it's free! No park entrance fees.

Once out of the park on the other side, you can pick up the famed, Blue Ridge Parkway, which starts here along US-441, and then runs another 469 miles north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

But for today, we'd only go as far as Asheville.