Chasing the Colors
Dates: October 11-20
Status: Now accepting reservations
This tour comes complete with vivid colors, awe-inspiring history, incredible scenery, amazing mountain roads, and unique accommodations during what’s arguably the best riding season of the year. We think this is the finest motorcycle tour of its kind in this region, and we’d like to invite you along for some of the most memorable motorcycling you’ll ever experience.
You’ll start and end the tour at a four-star inn on the Potomac River in wild and wonderful West Virginia. Next, you’ll take three glorious days to ride the entire Blue Ridge Parkway, chasing the fall colors the entire way from north to south along the highest mountain roads in the eastern United States. Once in the Smokies, you can explore Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the legendary Deals Gap, or the nearby Biltmore Estate. A return trip through miles of Appalachian backroads brings you into Shenandoah National Park and a rustic lodge right on Skyline Drive overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.
The AMA Chasing the Colors Tour combines the best of a region of the country that’s right in our own backyard, and it’s a trip that truly offers something for everybody. With a little luck with our timing, we'll literally chase the parade of autumn colors on its day-by-day trek from north to south. So how about joining us this October as we go Chasing the Colors?
Ride your own bike to our departure site in West Virginia, or, as an AMA member, take advantage of special services and arrange to have your bike shipped one way or round-trip while you fly. Perhaps you’d prefer to rent a bike and leave yours at home. Again, as an AMA member, you can take advantage of special rates on rental motorcycles in West Virginia if you prefer to fly/ride.
Once you’re there, we’ll supply you with all the maps and resources you’ll need, and suggestions for some of the best routes through some of the most beautiful scenery that the Blue Ridge and Smokies have to offer. During the tour, we’ll stay in a mixture of elegant inns, rustic lodges and modern hotels, where we will meet as a group for breakfasts and most dinners. We’ll have the opportunity to socialize each night, and discuss route options and sightseeing opportunities for the following day’s ride.
Our daily rides will average 4 to 8 hours, mostly on two-lane roads, many of which are extremely twisty and challenging. Your riding time will vary, depending on such things as your riding style, weather conditions and traffic.
On travel days, those who prefer can leave early, ride briskly and arrive in plenty of time to explore. Others can ride at their own pace, explore along the way, and arrive in time for supper. Ride by yourself or with some of the new friends you’ll make on the trips, or with our expert tour directors. It’s up to you.
We hope you will join us as we go Chasing the Colors, and have yourself the trip of a lifetime!
Tour Itinerary
Saturday, October 11
For the start of our adventure, we’ll arrive at our
beautiful inn at Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The oldest town in the state,
Shepherdstown is nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains along the Potomac River,
just 90 minutes from Washington, D.C. The tour officially begins with a welcoming reception
where you'll enjoy a four-star gourmet dinner in a
colonial-style mansion, acclaimed for its food in such publications as the
Washington Post, and Gourmet Magazine. Feel free to arrive in Shepherdstown
early and explore the nearby historic areas, such as Harper’s Ferry, the
Antietam battlefield, or take a stroll through the pre-Revolutionary town
itself. During dinner, we’ll have a chance to get to know each other, review our routes, and prepare for the next morning’s departure.
Sunday, October 12
We’ll get up early, enjoy a hot breakfast, then begin our
journey south to the heart of the Blue Ridge mountains. From a riding time point
of view, this will be our longest day of the tour. You can take a quicker route
using a mixture of secondary roads and the interstate to climb onto the Blue
Ridge and arrive at that night’s destination earlier, or take a longer route and
stop along the way to enjoy the scenery, caverns and other historic points of
interest. Either way, by the end of the day’s riding we will have covered the
first leg of our trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway itself, and roll into one of the
parkway’s most popular lodges. Stroll out on your very own terrace and take in
the panoramic lake and mountain views, famous since the days of Thomas
Jefferson. Or perhaps you’d prefer to stretch your legs and go for a hike to the
summit of one of the three nearby peaks to help work up an appetite for a superb
dinner with your new riding companions.
Monday, October 13
Watch the sun rise over the crest of the Blue Ridge as we
prepare for a full, 200-mile day on one of the top 10 motorcycling roads in
North America. With dozens of scenic overlooks having such names as Purgatory,
Great Valley, and Devil’s Backbone, opportunities to take in the views and
magnificent fall foliage will abound. Explore the impressive Roanoke River Gorge
along the way, or plan a lunch stop at Mabry Mill, which until 1935 was a
working gristmill, sawmill and blacksmith shop. After a few hours of motoring
through the rolling woods and highlands of southeastern Virginia, you’ll begin
climbing along craggy ridges as the Blue Ridge rises into North Carolina. By
day’s end, you’ll arrive at the gated guardhouse of our 87-acre exclusive
mountain hideaway resort in the town of Blowing Rock. Named for the Cherokee
words meaning “haven of rest,” our resort gives you the chance to rest your
riding muscles in the warm indoor pool, take a soak in the hot tub, or even
enjoy a massage prior to dinner.
Tuesday, October 14
Today will find us continuing our climb as we tackle the
highest sections of the Blue Ridge Mountains, including an option to ascend Mt.
Mitchell, the highest peak in the Eastern United States. If you mount an assault on that
summit, dress warm, because this peak has seen snow during every month of the
year! Along the way, we’ll pass over the engineering marvel known as the Linn
Cove Viaduct, and see natural marvels such as Linville Falls and the Pisgah
National Forest.
We'll then roll into a well known parkway lodge, perched high up on the crest of
an eastward-facing mountain, where every room will have a stunning view of one
of the prettiest valleys in the Black Mountain region of the Blue Ridge. This
will have been our shortest riding day of the tour, mileage-wise, allowing us to
meander and explore some of the most scenic sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway
and many interesting side routes.
Wednesday, October 15
On this day we'll cover the last leg of the Blue Ridge
Parkway all the way to its southern terminus at Great Smoky Mountain National
Park. From there it's just a short ride to our lodge, which is nestled in the
Nantahala River gorge. This lodge, just outside of Bryson City, North Carolina,
will be our home base for two nights. While we're there, our group will even get
to experience a great, southern-style outdoor barbecue. The location of our
accommodations puts us within easy striking distance of the
entire Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the excellent Cherohala Skyway
(right), the
famous "Dragon" known as Deals Gap, several other little-known motorcycling road
gems, and numerous sightseeing and shopping opportunities in nearby Asheville,
home of the Vanderbilts.
Thursday, October 16
This is a “free day” during the tour, where you can unload
your bike to lighten it for some great mountain road riding, or simply leave
yourself some luggage space for picking up a few souvenirs. Maybe you’d just
prefer to savor the ambiance of our inn, and settle into a chair near the large
fireplace, or on the porch and enjoy a good book. Our inn is just a short ride
from Asheville, where you can spend the better part of a day touring the
Biltmore Estate. A quick ride in the opposite direction will loop you through
the motorcycling mecca of Deal’s Gap (“The Dragon”), then back through the very
center of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Stop and shop in Gatlinburg on the
way, or just ride through town and head to Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak in
Tennessee. For the more adventurous types, whitewater rafting excursions down
the Nantahala river are just minutes away from our inn. By the end of the day,
relax with the group and enjoy some fine, homemade mountain fare.
Friday, October 17
Although we’ll now be starting the northward leg of our
journey, some of the best roads of the trip lie ahead. One route out of Bryson
City will take you on a short ride north on the Blue Ridge Parkway, before
turning you loose on the looping “old Blue Ridge Parkway” route past Grandfather
Mountain. A more northerly route will take you deep into the woods and hollows
of the Pisgah National Forest, before bringing you into the Bristol, Virginia
area on one of the most challenging roads of the tour. Maybe you’d prefer a more
direct route, to help you arrive a bit earlier at what will be the most
contemporary hotel on our itinerary. Dinner at the top-rated steak house in town
will give us ample opportunity to compare notes from the day on the road, and
plan the next chapter of our adventure.
Saturday, October 18
Today you can start off with a short cruise down the Lee
Highway and check out a couple of motorcycle shops, including the local Harley
and Honda dealerships, on the way to historic Abingdon, Virginia. Just south of
Abingdon, hang onto your wallet as you ride past Dixie Pottery, which will tempt
you with a tremendous array of artistic offerings. Abingdon, with its 20-square-block historic district, is another southern town that dates back to the
Revolution, and is one of the oldest English-speaking towns in the Blue Ridge.
Next on tap is a series of twisty mountain roads that will take you through the
Mount Rogers National Recreation area, then north to the Big Walker Mountain
summit observation point, where you’ll be able to view a 360-degree expanse of
the Jefferson National Forest from nearly 3,800 feet. Scenic roads will
eventually lead us down from the higher elevations and into the Roanoke valley
and the city of Roanoke, where we will make our stop for the day at this city’s
finest hotel. Some of you may opt to take a quicker route to Roanoke, so you can
take advantage of the historic market center, museums and many shops that are
located within a few blocks of our elegant, historic hotel.
Sunday, October 19
Just when you thought you’d seen the best of the curvy
mountain roads in the Blue Ridge region, you’ll get another helping of the twisties as one route takes us high into the George Washington National Forest
and lets us work our way north through the area of Virginia known for its
therapeutic mineral springs. Perhaps a lunch stop at the famous Homestead in Hot
Springs might provide a welcome respite from the road, before we continue to the
scenic Goshen Pass Highway. This route will eventually drop down into the
Shenandoah valley, where we will be surrounded by a backdrop of autumn colors,
with the Blue Ridge of Shenandoah National Park looming just to our east. A
quick, looping climb will soon bring us onto the famous Skyline Drive, where one
last northern push will take us to our lodge, perched on a ridge overlooking the
Shenandoah valley. At our lodge, each room will have its own private view of the
valley, where you can watch the sunset sink behind the mountains of West
Virginia before you join the group for dinner and live entertainment in the main
lodge.
Monday, October 20
While most folks have to be at work today, all you have to do is decide whether
or not you want to ride to the northern end of Skyline Drive, or instead drop
down to the valley floor onto a secluded, scenic road and weave your way through
rolling forests and endless farmlands. It’s a tough choice, but either way, the
grand finale riding day of our tour will feature more of the roads and scenery
cherished by motorcyclists. You can even include a short blast up the highway to
get to our tour’s ending point a bit early, where you can soak in your very own
private Jacuzzi, or gaze out at the Potomac from the terrace of your luxury
room. Other riders may opt to take the long way back, savoring one final loop
into the eastern panhandle of West Virginia on one of the best roads in the
state. Our delicious gourmet farewell dinner may be the end of the Chasing the
Colors Tour, but it may very well be remembered as
the time when phone numbers and addresses were exchanged, and new, life long
friendships were begun.
A few important notes about the Chasing the Colors tour
Riding Ability
Riding in the Blue Ridge and Smoky mountain
region requires special skills. Many of the roads are twisty and challenging,
and the visibility around many curves is severely limited. Additionally, some of
the routes available to you are also shared with other large vehicles, such as
logging trucks, tractor-trailers, and motorhomes. You should be an extremely
proficient, experienced motorcyclist in good health, and be capable of handling
some very challenging road and weather conditions.
Weather Conditions
The fall season in this part of North America generally enjoys mild, dry days
with crisp, cool nights. However, weather conditions at higher elevations,
particularly on sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, can be
unpredictable. Fog conditions on the Blue Ridge Parkway and in
Shenandoah National Park can cause visibility to drop to near zero, even when
the weather is favorable at lower elevations. If you are mostly a fair-weather
rider and rarely take long motorcycle trips that include cool temperatures, wet
weather and fog, you should consider taking another tour.
Additionally, although this is not a requirement for our tours, we strongly recommend that you carry motorcycle towing coverage. Because our domestic tours do not employ a chase vehicle, it is your responsibility to make sure that you and your motorcycle have access to transportation services in the event of a mechanical problem.
Routes and Daily Mileage
Please keep in mind that this tour allows you to cover
long distances using mountainous routes in a little over one week’s time.
Distances of between 200 and 250 miles on several days of the trip are
typical, and the daily distances can often be modified to be higher or lower,
depending on the chosen route. While a 250-mile day may not sound like a long
ride, it is important to remember that on many of the routes, such as the Blue
Ridge Parkway, your riding speed can be limited to 45 mph, or even much slower,
as dictated by the design of the roadways and weather conditions. On several of
the days of the tour, there are multiple combinations of routes that can be used
to reach the next destination.
Regardless of the route chosen, it will be important for you to get on the road at a reasonable time each morning, and choose a route and a pace that will provide you with the most enjoyment while on the tour.
Accommodations
The Chasing the Colors Tour includes all accommodations
during the tour for a total of 10 nights. To make your trip as pleasurable and
relaxing as possible, we have made every effort to obtain extraordinary or
upscale hotels, inns and lodges. We will travel to a different location during
each day of the tour, except when we arrive in the Bryson City/Great Smoky
Mountain National Park area, where we will stay for two nights.
Meals
The tour price includes welcoming and closing receptions, cooked
breakfasts each morning, and dinners. Lunch each day is on your own. In all
cases, our group meals will be provided at the location of our hotels, inns and
lodges, and some of the restaurants we have selected have been recognized for
their cuisine.
Travel Information
The tour price also includes daily maps, highway maps and
suggested routing, as well as a series of newsletters that will provide you
with a variety of information on what and how to pack, sights to see en route,
etc. Our price does not include bike rental, bike shipping, or any airfare. If
you choose to fly one or both ways to join the tour, you should not purchase
nonrefundable airline tickets before August 30, in the unlikely event the tour
is canceled on the final payment date for lack of participation. AMA Tours will
contact you on that date with information.
Note: Although we do not expect any changes in our tour dates, these dates can be subject to change. All participants will be notified if any changes are anticipated.
Tour Costs
Upon request, when possible, we will attempt to pair singles into twin rooms
with two beds to save the single occupancy add-on. Prices per person.
| Single occupancy room | $3,455 |
| Sharing a room with two beds with another rider | $2,465 |
Bike Rentals
If you opt to rent a motorcycle instead of using your own, you can contact any
rental company of your choosing.
Eaglerider, which rents a wide range of Harley Davidson and Buell Motorcycles, provides a discount to AMA members. Visit their website for information and reservations.
With any motorcycle rental outfit you choose, don’t forget to inquire about the availability of luggage for these bikes so you can be prepared to provide your own luggage if necessary. All rental companies have a limited supply of bikes, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You should contact them well in advance of the tour to increase the chances of receiving the motorcycle you want. NOTE: AMA Tours and Eaglerider have no direct affiliation. If you choose to utilize their services, your contract will be with their company and not AMA Tours. AMA Tours assumes no responsibility for rental motorcycles with this tour. Other rental companies may also become available for your use on this tour.