Blackberry Farm Bike Tour

Meet your guides in Knoxville for a quick transfer to the starting point for our ride into the Smoky Mountains, bound for Blackberry Farm. On our arrival, we’re treated to a lunch crafted from the Farm’s homegrown vegetables and locally foraged ingredients—sustainably harvested foods are the building blocks of Blackberry Farm’s celebrated Foothills Cuisine. Tour the farmstead after lunch, settle into the Relais & Châteaux resort around which our trip is centered, and round out the day with welcome cocktails in the Farm’s creekside pavilion. This evening’s dinner at The Dogwood is an exercise in elegance, invoking a sense of Southern hospitality.

Meals: Lunch / Dinner
Destinations: Knoxville, Delaplane, Markham, Walland
Accomplished: 18 miles / 30 km, elevation gain: 1,267 feet / 386 meters
Longer Option: 31 miles / 50 km, elevation gain: 2,132 feet / 650 meters
Accommodations: Blackberry Farm

Enjoy breakfast in the peace of the mountain surrounds, then hop on the bike and head into the valley. As we ride through the foothills, the names of the towns are a reminder of the Cherokee people who once called this land home, but were forced to leave along the Trail of Tears. At a local museum and general store, we’ll get to know the owners and have a quick bite over some local lore. Ride back to Blackberry Farm for a full lunch spread, then spend the afternoon however you like: perhaps at the property’s sumptuous spa or sipping farm ales brewed by Blackberry Farm Brewery. Just before dinner, we’ll regroup for a tasting tour of the Farm’s gardens—a sneak preview of the ingredients that will make a starring appearance on tonight’s dinner plates.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Destinations: Walland, Melrose
Accomplished: 32 miles / 52 km, elevation gain: 2,063 feet / 629 meters
Shorter Option: 25 miles / 41 km, elevation gain: 1,548 feet / 472 meters
Accommodations: Blackberry Farm

Today’s ride is a knockout that takes us around the entire mountain range north of Blackberry Farm. We’ll follow a narrow ribbon of pavement beside a babbling mountain stream, cruising past farmlands and pastures. Pop into a country store to refuel before looping around the far end of the mountains. Stop by a picture-perfect white clapboard church for a bit of local history, then transfer back to the hotel if you’re beat—or complete the loop and revel in an epic day of riding. Our final dinner is a fond farewell to the exquisite culinary creations that Blackberry Farm has coined “Foothills Cuisine.”

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Destinations: Waldens Creek, Yellow Spring Hollow, Dupont
Accomplished: 36 miles / 60 km, elevation gain: 2,538 feet / 774 meters
Longer Option: 47 miles / 76 km, elevation gain: 3,342 feet / 1,019 meters
Accommodations: Blackberry Farm

There’s time this morning for one more ride along the banks of the Little River to Townsend. Stop for a coffee or step into a shop to pick up some homemade treats. Finish with a little push up to the mountain meadows of Tuckaleechee before heading back to Blackberry Farm. After one last lunch, we’ll say our farewells and take you back to Knoxville.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
Destinations: Townsend, Tuckaleechee
Accomplished: 26 miles / 42 km, elevation gain: 1,496 feet / 456 meters
Longer Option: 32 miles / 51 km, elevation gain: 2,027 feet / 618 meters