
If you do not have camping gear, please let us know and we may be able to bring some for you. Equipment: Must be able to bring your own bike and camping equipment.Skill Level: Beginner road cycling experience required, but you do not need to be an expert or in top shape.The ride will be complete by 2pm for those who need to drive home. This moderate ride will be around 20 miles round-trip and includes an uphill section during the first part of the day. The WNC Alliance is involved in the history of this road and our Ecologist, Bob Gale will be on hand to discuss this. Politics aside, the Road to Nowhere, as named by locals, remains a point of curiosity for visitors from near and far. The debate - build the road or secure a monetary settlement for Swain County from the National Park Service? The issue was resolved in 2010 with a settlement. Bryson City, NC - The Road To Nowhere, as most local residents call it, is a 6-mile scenic drive into the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where it dead-ends.


The road received its name from a dispute during the 1930s and ‘40s when Swain County gave up the majority of its private land to the federal government for the creation of Fontana Lake and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Ĭonstruction on the road began in the 1960s but was halted because of environmental issues, leaving the tunnel completed, but nothing else. Sunday, May 20: After camping out again under the stars, we will head out from the campground by bike to the Road to Nowhere, an 8-mile road in Bryson City that ends in a tunnel – inside the bounds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
