I26 Asheville to Pikeville, KY
Anyone pulled this route recently? Looking for tips as I will be pulling it down and return in late Oct. regards
Forum Discussion
We LIVE here, so we pull it lots!
I-26 turns into Rt 23 as soon as you cross the Virginia border and is a 4-lane, limited access highway for most of the route. It does go up and down some mountains, but you are IN the mountains, so it's a no-brainer.
From Asheville, it will take you approximately 4 1/2 hrs to get to Pikeville, maybe less. From Asheville, you must cross Sam's Gap, which is a pretty good haul. When you get to the top, if you are over-heated in any way, there are several scenic byways that you can pull into. At the bottom of the mountain on the TN side is a welcome center. When you cross into Virginia, it becomes 4-lane, but you go through a small town (watch your speed here), then you get back into the limited access again for another 40 miles. Again, you will go up a mountain and there is a beautiful scenic byway at the top. This overlooks Powell Valley. Another 40 miles and you will be at the Kentucky border with another mountain to climb. Again, there is a scenic byway at the top and it overlooks Eastern Ky. From there, it's about another 30 miles to Pikeville and it is limited access highway.
I live in beautiful country and you should have NO TROUBLE whatsoever pulling a trailer this way - lots of us do it regularly as long as you have something suitable to pull that Airstream.
PM me if you have any specific questions.
I-26 turns into Rt 23 as soon as you cross the Virginia border and is a 4-lane, limited access highway for most of the route. It does go up and down some mountains, but you are IN the mountains, so it's a no-brainer.
From Asheville, it will take you approximately 4 1/2 hrs to get to Pikeville, maybe less. From Asheville, you must cross Sam's Gap, which is a pretty good haul. When you get to the top, if you are over-heated in any way, there are several scenic byways that you can pull into. At the bottom of the mountain on the TN side is a welcome center. When you cross into Virginia, it becomes 4-lane, but you go through a small town (watch your speed here), then you get back into the limited access again for another 40 miles. Again, you will go up a mountain and there is a beautiful scenic byway at the top. This overlooks Powell Valley. Another 40 miles and you will be at the Kentucky border with another mountain to climb. Again, there is a scenic byway at the top and it overlooks Eastern Ky. From there, it's about another 30 miles to Pikeville and it is limited access highway.
I live in beautiful country and you should have NO TROUBLE whatsoever pulling a trailer this way - lots of us do it regularly as long as you have something suitable to pull that Airstream.
PM me if you have any specific questions.
