Mt. Mitchell
Mt Mitchell is the highest peak in the US, east of the Mississippi River. It is accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469 mile scenic road through Virginia and North Carolina. The parkway was designed as a scenic leisure road for motor vehicles, and doesn’t have designated bike lanes.
There appear to be two classic ways to climb Mt Mitchell: from the west, starting at the Folk Art Center just outside Asheville, and from the east, starting near Marion. Here I’m describing the climb starting at the Folk Art Center, just east of Asheville.
It’s a long, rather tedious climb, with trees on both sides for much of the way, interspersed with the occasional view of the pretty rolling hills covered with more trees, as far as the eye can see. The whole out-and-back ride is 62.4 miles, with about 6,810 feet of climbing.
However, it’s not quite so straightforward because you will actually descend about 1,340 feet on the way up. Which of course means that you have to climb about 1,340 feet on the way back down 😀. But at least those feet are part of the overall 6,810 feet. There are also three short tunnels you have to ride through. Cyclists are required to have front and back lights to ride through the tunnels although no one seems to be checking. A back light at least seems very sensible.
The climb doesn’t have any really steep climbing, but it has lots of climbing around 7%. The most sustained part of the climbing is probably the last 4 miles up to the top of Mt Mitchell (although some of this is also very easy), and the steepest part is probably on the long uphill on the way back.
The first 27 miles are up the Blue River Parkway. There are several sections of downhill of varying lengths, most of which you will forget about until you have to climb them on the way back. The biggest downhill starts around mile 19 and lasts a bit over two miles, which feels pretty much like forever on the way back.
At about mile 27 you turn left and in just over 4 miles you reach the big parking area at the top of Mt Mitchell. There are bathrooms here and a store that sells food and drinks. There is also a 300 yard paved footpath that leads to a big stone observation deck with views all around.
Click here to see the ride on Ride with GPS.
Links and Other Clicks
Just in case you are interested in riding the full 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, here are some resources:
A National Park Service page about cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway
A useful page about cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway
Pedal Eat Sleep. A guide to cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway
Bicycling the Blue Ridge. A book about cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway
Cycle Uphill 