Guided Tours

Depending on rider abilities, there is a wide range of dual sport riding available in the area, from groomed fire roads all the way to gnarly single track trails.

Let us set you up with a guide that knows the area well.  Tours can be designed for any ability and challenge from a single day to a multi-day trip. Rates are $50 per day on our bikes , $75 per day on your bike, 3 rider min., 6 rider max. Just give us a call and let us know what you have in mind.

Self Guided Routes

GSMmotoRent has many easy to follow routes with turn by turn directions that help you find the type of riding your looking for. We are located right in the center of two great areas to ride, that being the Cherokee National Forest area around Tellico Plains, and the area to the East of the Park in the Pisgah National Forest. Our day routes average 180 miles in length and will have between 35 to 75 miles off the pavement, plan on 7 to 8 hours out. Below are two described where all the gravel portions are maintained forest and park service roads and are ideal for the rider with limited experience on loose surfaces. We have many routes, some that are variations of these and others that include more challenging conditions for the more experienced rider. Route sheets are included with motorcycle rental.

PARK LOOP TOUR

This route takes you into Great Smoky Mountains National Park and out through Gatlinburg. From there you'll head up HWY 321 through Cosby and around the north end of the park. Most of the road just past Cosby is the actual park boundary. This will take you to a little known road that is every bit as challenging as the Dragon but with very little traffic. You'll cross over into North Carolina as you go over the northern-most section of the park. Sections of this road are graveled to attest how little traveled it is. Once you come back down to civilization you'll go through Maggie Valley and stop for lunch. From there you head back up and over the mountain by the Cataloochee ski area and down under I-40 to some great Forest Roads in the Pisgah National Forest before returning to Townsend.

CHEROHALA LOOP TOUR

Here, you'll start by entering Smoky Mountains National Park and head to Cades Cove; about halfway through the loop at Cades Cove you turn off on to Parson's Branch Rd. This is the old South entry into Cade's Cove, gravel with shallow water crossings, it is one of the local's favorites to ride. This ends at Hwy 129, also known as the Dragon. From there you'll head down 129 and take a cutoff which takes you around Santeetlah Lake on into Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, home to some of the oldest trees in the Appalachians. Back on gravel you'll head back up the mountain and intersect the Cherohala Skyway close to the Tennessee, North Carolina border. Then, you'll ride back down the Cherohala to Tellico Plains, Tennessee and stop for lunch. From here you'll ride up a scenic road to the Green Cove area to more gravel, to the top of the Cherohala again where you have a choice of returning on the road or doing the gravel back to Hwy 129. Once on 129 its pavement all the way home, but this includes the Dragon and the Foothills Pkwy back to our base in Townsend.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN 450 DUAL SPORT ADVENTURE 

GSMmotoRent is now offering a complete package including dual sport motorcycle rental, 2 nights lodging,  maps, and route sheets for the adventurous rider wanting to take the less traveled path through the mountains of East TN and Western NC. This is a self guided tour that you can ride anytime during the year between the middle of April and the end of October.  Be prepared for 3 full days of riding, over 40%, or 180 miles of this route, is off the tarmac traveling over forest roads, through creeks, and countless gaps in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and the Pisgah, Nantahala, and Cherokee National Forests.

This route makes a large loop through the mountains,  you'll stay in Andrews, NC the first night and Maggie Valley, NC the second.  Plan on getting an early start out of our shop in Townsend, if you need lodging the night before we have a motel right next door.

Click here for a more complete desription
 

Get dirty and experience the mountains like never before. 
$489 per rider, includes all taxes and liability insurance, based on double occupancy. 
Route sheet and map package only $99

We keep in stock National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps for all of the TN and NC areas. These are great for dual sport riding as they tend to be accurate as far as closures go and really show a lot of detail.