Little Switzerland - Murder Mountain Loop

***gammaqueen*** · #1 08-02-2009

Gary and I have run across another great motorcycle road. If you have not ridden hwy 226A from Marion to Little Switzerland yet all I can say is what are you waiting for!!! This road is absolutely gorgeous! Twisty, steep, no guard rails. What more could one ask for.

We found a couple really neat motels along the way also. One motel is built out on stilts over the side of the mountain. It is called the Alpine Inn. What a beautiful place. The owner let us go in and look around. I want to stay there sometime soon…

http://www.alpineinnnc.com/default.htm

We stopped at the motel we were staying at, but our room wan not ready yet. It was at the intersection of 226A and 226 right off the Blue Ridge Parkway/ It is called the Skyline Village Inn and Cavern Tavern.

Little Switzerland, North Carolina, NC - Skyline Village Inn and Cavern Tavern

This place was amazing. They have the most comfortable beds and an amazing view. The beer selection was unbelievable in the package store. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony talking and looking at the amazing view!

Our ride started here on 226A. It is called the Murder Mountain ride because it goes past a church where a man named Charles Silver is buried in three gravesites.

His wife murdered him with an ax and chopped him into pieces. They kept finding more of him, so he ended up with three graves beside each other. His wife is supposed to be the first woman hanged in NC for his murder. They say she has numerous gravesites also to keep his family from mutilating her body in retaliation.

We got on 19E then turned on Hwy 80. This took us through Kona, the town where the church is with Charles Silver’s grave, then through a town called Bandana. It was only a sign with a few houses.

Back in the day the residents would wear a red bandana if they wanted the train to stop. That is where it got its name. Next we took a left on 226 and passed through Loafers Glory and the name says it all. It was beautiful.

226 turned into TN 107 at the state line. Then we turned on 173, which runs along a creek bed. Gorgeous! Next we turned on 19E and then took TN 143 to climb Roan Mountain. It got kind of chilly on top at an elevation of 6285 feet, which is close to the NC state line.

The road changes back to 226 and goes through Bakersville back to Spruce Pine, and on to Little Switzerland where we checked into our room.