Motorcycle rides to remember

BY NATHAN HAM

Motorcycle riders enjoy taking on the challenging curves and mountain back roads that are plentiful across the mountains of North Carolina. Ashe, Watauga and Avery counties offer up some of the finest scenery and weather for riders to enjoy on their trips through the High Country.

In 2022, the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce debuted the Devil’s Stairs ride that covers 118 miles of highway in Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties in North Carolina and Johnson County, Tennessee. The ride starts and ends in a big loop in downtown West Jefferson.

The loop features over 167 curves and takes riders nearby to at least 30 restaurants and 40 lodging locations should they decide to stop for a bite to eat or somewhere to stay overnight.

In addition to the stops in Ashe County, the route will also take riders through Laurel Springs and Scottville in Alleghany County, Trade, Tennessee, in Johnson County, Boone, Todd, and Appalachian State University in Watauga County and several scenic stretches of highway that ride alongside the New River.

Another loop ride to consider is the 124-mile “Post Office Loop,” which stops at several townships in Ashe County that have post offices, includ - ing Lansing, Laurel Springs, Todd, Warrensville, Creston and Crumpler.

If these two local rides are not challenging enough, there are four other rides that will take you on longer adventures that you will need an entire day to complete and might even consider stopping for an overnight stay along the route.

The loop called “Skulls Gap” covers 175 miles and will take riders from West Jefferson to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, then up through Chilhowie and Saltville, Virginia before circling back through Glade Spring and Damascus, Virginia, and into Tennessee. Riders travel through Butler and Doe

Valley in Tennessee before heading back into North Carolina and coming out new Sugar Grove and Vilas.

A ride called “The Crumplers” originates in West Jefferson and covers 309 total miles. This loop takes riders through Virginia and into West Virginia. The ride goes through Crumpler in Ashe County and all the way up to Crumpler, West Virginia, a small town west of Princeton, West Virginia.

Another ride called “Paint Bank” covers about 346 miles. The ride takes travelers through Tazewell, Virginia and just across into West Virginia before crossing back into

Virginia near Paint Bank and New Castle. The trip then travels south to Roanoke, Floyd and eventually back into Hillsville and Galax.

“The Lansings” loop is the longest trip that covers exactly 400 miles. The journey takes riders through Lansing in Ashe County and all the way up through Southwest Virginia to Lansing, West Virginia, which is north of Beckley. The loop circles back down through Hillsville, Galax and Mouth of Wilson, Virginia before coming back into Ashe County.

For more information and GPS directions for each of these rides, visit https://devilstairs.com/