I'm looking for places to go bikepacking in North Carolina. I've looked at the 113 mile loop in the Croatan National Forest. I'm not having much luck otherwise. Any other suggestions? Thanks
If you do Facebook, check out the groups Carolina Gravel and Southeast Gravel. You might get some good advice there or, more generally, on the Bikepacking group page. Pisgah NF in NC seems to have gravel routes.
If you’re open to SC, there’s Sumter and Francis Marion NF. I’ve only done Francis Marion, which is home to the 177 mile Swamp Fox Gravel Ride.
I've never done this, but every now and then, I'll map it to see if it can be done safely. If you take hwy 90 out of Statesville , and follow it north. It eventually turns into all gravel. When you reach Mortimer, there's a slew of great gravel. Including the infamous Maple sally road. Betty's country store is a cool place to set up camp.
You could try this route on the western side of Linville Gorge. The climb up old NC Hwy 105 is brewtal. Don't say I didn't warn you. It's a fairly long climb, around 9 miles as I remember, with switch backs in the 15-20% range.
