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3.67 out of 5 Rider Rating 3.67
3 Reviews

Wine Spring Road

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By propav8r (14 McR Points) on Oct 02, 2014

Rider Reviews

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Papi&Nene
4 McR Points
July 10, 2015
The road itself was in great condition. However,…
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Jbstok
48 McR Points
May 10, 2021
Ride them first half on the Goldwing. Turned…
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Written Directions

The easiest way to find the road is to head out of Franklin, NC heading west on Highway 64. About 5 miles out of town, you'll see a sign for Wayah Bald/LBJ Job Corps. The road is Patton road, but it may not be signed. It's a right hand exit ramp off Hwy. 64 onto Patton Road. Pretty much immediately after getting off 64, you'll see an abandoned gas station at the intersection with Wayah Road. Now-Wayah road is already on this website, and is a fun road in itself, but we're after a larger prize. After turning left at the old gas station, continue on Wayah Rd. for 10.7 miles. You'll eventually crest over the top (where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road) and start heading downhill. Once you're heading downhill, you're looking for the first road on the right. There will be a sign for Dirty John Shooting Range. That's where you turn, and that is the start of the road. There is a sign up that warns of broken pavement for the next 15 miles. Don't mind it. The first 7 miles or so of the road are freshly paved. Go ahead and turn it loose at this point-the road twists and turns through some beautiful hills with trees lining both sides of the road. It's truly beautiful in the fall. After approximately 7 miles, you'll come upon an overlook/pulloff in a right hand turn. This is the end of the fresh pavement and offers incredible views of the valley and lake below. At this point, if you're comfortable riding on gravel and broken pavement, you could continue on for another 8 miles or so to where the road intersects Cold Springs Creek road, and use that to join back up with Wayah Road, or turn around and ride the 7 miles back, enjoying the twists and turns again in reverse. Here's a link to a map of the road section I'm talking about: https://tinyurl.com/WinespringRoad

Scenery

Hey guys-I'm local to Franklin, NC and figured I'd let you in on my dirty little secret...its one of the most beautiful and technical roads in WNC, and most of the time, it's completely deserted! No intersections, no houses, and no cops. Just a shooting range and a horse camp. Most of the early part of the road is pretty heavily forested, with a few small streams that cross under the road. After about 4 miles, the view opens up a bit and you'll come across a couple overlooks that offer insane views of the valley and lake below.

Drive Enjoyment

The road has a nice combination of tight switchbacks and long, fast sweepers. As mentioned earlier, the first 7 miles are freshly paved without ANY potholes at all. Very smooth, fast road. However, after the second overlook, the road turns into broken pavement and gravel. If you're on an adventure/enduro bike, you could make it through no problem, but I wouldn't take a cruiser down the road. I've done it in a Miata before, but it wasn't fun.

Tourism Opportunities

Once you get this far up in the hills, there's nothing around for miles. Be sure to tank up in Franklin or else you'll be coasting down the hills.

Motorcycle Road Additional info

This video submitted by Jared in Oct of 2014:
 

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Papi&Nene
July 10, 2015
4 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Other
The road itself was in great condition. However, the road side and amount of debris was really bad. Branches were all in the road. You couldn't see anything on the pull offs due to the height of the bushes and trees. I would not recommend opening it up on the way up.... take your time going up to make sure the road is clear. But it was a nice drive.
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Jbstok
May 10, 2021
48 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Touring
Ride them first half on the Goldwing. Turned around at the end of the new pavement. Drove the whole thing in the Jeep. Good choice. Great views and scenery.
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Akumu
May 29, 2021
4000 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Other
A pretty fun, but dirty, by way of twigs, sticks, thistle needles and the like type of road. I spotted a black bear on the road, too. That said, this is pretty much a dead zone of people. There's nothing around, and if the road was cleaner it would be much more fun, as it is now it's certainly fun, but you want to actively be safe. Feel free to check out my video on this road at www.youtube.com/AkumuX
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