FBCC President’s Drive
September 12-14, 2025
Trip is officially two nights. September 12 & 13.
Some are staying over an extra night September 14. There will be an organized drive home on Monday September 14 for those staying the extra night.
General Information
The Townsend Gateway Inn in Townsend, TN will be our anchor. It is located at the approximate end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Cades Cove.
Check out their web page as there is a lot offinformation provided about area activities, including biking, hiking, shopping, and zip lining!
The inn has reserved 25 rooms for us at affordable rates. You MUST call Amanda (865-238-0123) ASAP and reference “British Car Club”.
The inn is fully booked now except our reserved rooms. They will release our block of rooms sometime in May, so call now!
For evenings, the Inn has a gathering place fire pit for spirited BS (BYOB). There are some chairs and benches, but if possible bring chairs with you.My scouts and I have done some pathfinding, and we will convoy (if desired) to and from the Inn. Saturday you are free to explore the many challenging scenic roads that abound in the area.
Group drive to get there
Meet at Holly Springs Country Store at the intersection of Hwy11 and Hwy178 at 9:45 am on September 12th. I need to know if you will be driving with us as a group. Please email me and let me know butot@bellsouth.net. Please bring your 2 way radios tuned to channel 16-1.
We will depart in two groups at 10:00am with me leading group 1 and Scott McCombe leading group 2. Here is a link to the route we will use:
Holly Springs Country Store to Townsend Gateway Inn. (3hrs, 52 min, 163 miles)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EtHEK4AF6ckk85y8A
This is close to 4 hours of driving time but we will be stopping for lunch at Quirky Birds Treehouse and Bistro in Dillsboro at about 11:30am. I will be making reservations so it is important that I know if you will join us. If you are skipping the lunch or are making other arrangements, let me know.
Once we regroup after lunch we will head to the Fontana Dam Visitors Center for a restroom stop. There is a large parking lot there and it is only about an hour from Dillsboro.
Once we leave the Dam, we will head to Townsend by way of “THE DRAGON”. Google says the drive from the Dam to Townsend Gateway Inn is about 1 ½ hours. I am sure that depends upon traffic when we get there. The other route to Townsend via Hwy 441 through Cherokee is expected to be closed until early to mid- October due to a washout during a recent storm.
Drive on Saturday
On Saturday, several of us are planning to spend most of the day exploring the Cherohala Skyway via “THE DRAGON” and “The Foothills Parkway” and a few other backroads. I would suggest those who are going should have an early breakfast and do the route counterclockwise to get through THE DRAGON before it gets too crowded. Here is the route suggested:
Townsend Gateway Inn to Cherohala Skyway via The Dragon Driving Directions (4hrs, 4 Minutes, 164 Miles)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Lo8Lq8QT6fSCVAca8
Group dinner Saturday evening
And don’t forget, there is a planned dinner on Saturday evening at 6pm at The Abbey https://townsendabbey.com/ .
Group drive home
The return trip from Townsend back home on Sunday or Monday is shown in the link below. It’s a little different than the trip to Townsend but still travels through THE DRAGON to Cashiers but heads to Rosman before heading back to Holly Springs Country Store. For those of you who want a quicker way back you could try going through Pigeon Forge to I40 and I26. Google says that is a 3 ½ hour drive. Not much fun in a British Car!
Townsend Gateway Inn to Holly Springs Country Store. (3hrs, 59min, 162 miles)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BaEAs7DPPMmRdXuu9
Great Smokey Mountain National Park
If you are planning to spend any time in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, you will need a parking pass that must be displayed when parked for more than 15 minutes anywhere in the park. I purchased a 7-day parking tag for $15.00. You can use the following link to purchase and print your pass:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Parking Tag Pass in Tennessee – Recreation.gov
Other Things To Do And See
Here is a partial list of some of the beautiful fun roads we will travel and
places we can visit:
The Great Smokey Mountain Loop
Whitewater Way- Hwy 281 from Sapphire to SC
Mount Mitchell Scenic Byway Drive
Newfound Gap Rd– between Gatlinburg and Cherokee
Diamond Back and Devil’s Whip
Little Switzerland and Lake Tahoma
The Rattler- NC 209
Waterfall Byway, Rt64
Tail of the Dragon
Blue Ridge Parkway
Cherohala Skyway
AND:
Tuckaleechee Caverns
Titanic Museum
Pigeon Forge
Great Smokey Mountains Heritage Center
The Little River Rail Road Lumber Company Museum
Cades Cove
Clingman’s Dome
Gatlinburg, TN