[wtwo3]

I'm planning a road trip from Greenville, SC to home in Chicago, IL. My current tentative plan is to make stops in Knoxville and Louisville, but the plan is somewhat flexible. What's not so flexible is time (meaning I can't make this a long trip). So I'll at most be making 2 stops for 1 night each (i.e. 1 night in Knoxville and 1 night in Louisville).

Dates are tentative but aiming to spend evening of 2/9 in Greenville then possibly head out on 2/10, to be in Chicago by 2/12.

Any ideas or recommendations for Greenville/Knoxville/Louisville and/or other cities i should consider instead en route?

Places to go
Things to do/see
Places to eat

Thanks all!

[2000cs]

Knoxville is only about 3 hrs or so from Greenville - why wouldn’t you go farther on the first day? Maybe Lexington, KY? I know you can get from Lex to Chi in a day, weather permitting, or stop in Cincy, Indy, or L’ville. Around Lex there are distillery tours, maybe catch a UK basketball game if in town.

[kscarrol]

Agreed, I’d pass on Knoxville. Assume you’re doing PCD which is in Greer, about 20-25 minutes from Greenville. Are you staying in downtown Greenville? If so, I would spend some time walking Falls Park along the Reedy river downtown. Halls is excellent but your standard steak house. The Trappe Door is excellent but you’ll need to make a reservation. For cocktails, Up on the Roof has great views and is fun as long as the weather is nice. There is a restaurant there but the food is just average.

[Fly320s]

Plan your route from Greenville to Knoxville to along the Tail of the Dragon, a.k.a. HWY 129 in TN.

If you do stop in the Knoxville area, there is an interesting tour at Oak Ridge National Labs.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Knoxville is only about 3 hrs or so from Greenville - why wouldn’t you go farther on the first day? Maybe Lexington, KY? I know you can get from Lex to Chi in a day, weather permitting, or stop in Cincy, Indy, or L’ville. Around Lex there are distillery tours, maybe catch a UK basketball game if in town.

So there's a couple reason I picked Knoxville and neither of them have to do with Knoxville being the destination

1) I was hoping to take the scenic route up - which would extend the time from 3 hours to closer to 5
2) I'll be on summer tires, and as I'll be driving in winter, I'd like to limit my driving to the daytime hours where it's still relatively warm enough for me to drive cautiously without too much worry through the mountains. If it drops below 40 degrees I'm going to really have to slow it down.

That being said, if I leave early enough and take a more direct route, I could just go straight to Lexington or even Louisville if Knoxville truly isn't a great place to spend a night.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Agreed, I’d pass on Knoxville. Assume you’re doing PCD which is in Greer, about 20-25 minutes from Greenville. Are you staying in downtown Greenville? If so, I would spend some time walking Falls Park along the Reedy river downtown. Halls is excellent but your standard steak house. The Trappe Door is excellent but you’ll need to make a reservation. For cocktails, Up on the Roof has great views and is fun as long as the weather is nice. There is a restaurant there but the food is just average.

Yup planning to do PCD. I probably won't be staying in downtown Greenville, but I am spending at least 2-3 nights near the Performance Center since I'll be getting some PPF applied to the car after I collect it. So I'll have some downtime in the general area. Will look into checking out Falls Park and Trappe Door

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Fly320s

Plan your route from Greenville to Knoxville to along the Tail of the Dragon, a.k.a. HWY 129 in TN.

If you do stop in the Knoxville area, there is an interesting tour at Oak Ridge National Labs.

Tail of the Dragon was definitely one consideration. But then I thought it might be best to do a more relaxed drive - still mountain roads, but not as aggressive as tail of the dragon - It'll be all break-in miles so I'll need to be gentle on the car, and with it being February and me being on summer tires I'll have to be cautious anyway.

That being said, I've never driven Trail of the Dragon, I'm just assuming it's a more aggressive/dangerous drive - tell me if I'm wrong

Is the Oak Ridge National Labs tour the bus tour? Or is that something else?

[TwinTurboXI]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

So there's a couple reason I picked Knoxville and neither of them have to do with Knoxville being the destination

1) I was hoping to take the scenic route up - which would extend the time from 3 hours to closer to 5
2) I'll be on summer tires, and as I'll be driving in winter, I'd like to limit my driving to the daytime hours where it's still relatively warm enough for me to drive cautiously without too much worry through the mountains. If it drops below 40 degrees I'm going to really have to slow it down.

That being said, if I leave early enough and take a more direct route, I could just go straight to Lexington or even Louisville if Knoxville truly isn't a great place to spend a night.

Road tripping to Chicago in February on summer tires is a horrible idea.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboXI

Road tripping to Chicago in February on summer tires is a horrible idea.

I've spent entire winter seasons in Chicago on summer tires before - clearly I haven't learned my lesson

[ppointer]

Nothing relaxing about Tail of the Dragon, unless you want a bunch of people pissed you're going too slow. Also, I think to enjoy it you would want to make several passes. Whether driving it or riding it (motorcycles), I usually make a couple of days out of it and at least eight passes each day. Even after going there for years, it still takes me a pass or two to get a good rhythm going.

Instead, why not take a look at the Cherohala Skyway? It is definitely relaxing compared to ToD, but plenty of fun.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by ppointer

Nothing relaxing about Tail of the Dragon, unless you want a bunch of people pissed you're going too slow. Also, I think to enjoy it you would want to make several passes. Whether driving it or riding it (motorcycles), I usually make a couple of days out of it and at least eight passes each day. Even after going there for years, it still takes me a pass or two to get a good rhythm going.

Instead, why not take a look at the Cherohala Skyway? It is definitely relaxing compared to ToD, but plenty of fun.

Cherohala looks awesome! I'll probably map out a few different routes and pick one based on time and weather. Will add Cherohala to the list!

[RickFLM4]

You can get some great pictures of the new car on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville if trying to stretch the ride to Knoxville longer. Tons of good restaurants in Asheville too but only an hour or so away from Spartanburg so probably too close to make it an overnight destination.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

You can get some great pictures of the new car on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville if trying to stretch the ride to Knoxville longer. Tons of good restaurants in Asheville too but only an hour or so away from Spartanburg so probably too close to make it an overnight destination.

I'll check it out. Do I just pull up in front of the estate and take pics there? or is there a specific spot that's best? I'm google mapping it now - Asheville is on the route I'm considering.

[floridaorange]

Go to Charleston instead - just hang there

[kscarrol]

^ Might want to re-read OP’s post…

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I'll check it out. Do I just pull up in front of the estate and take pics there? or is there a specific spot that's best? I'm google mapping it now - Asheville is on the route I'm considering.

So the bad news is you’ll need to pay to go into the estate, but once inside, you should be able to follow the road towards the house. There’s a place you can stop to take a picture with the house in the background. Maybe only worth the price of admission if you spend a little time on the estate - tour the house, grab lunch, etc.

If you stopped around where I was standing (a little to the right and actually on the road) when I took this picture, that’s a nice picture of the new car. This is a no parking area, but they will let you stop to snap a picture.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Go to Charleston instead - just hang there

Charleston is a good 3+ hours in the opposite direction. Not sure if that's worth a day trip unfortunately especially with limited time.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

^ Might want to re-read OP’s post…

Since we are actively talking him out of Lexington, I figured may as well talk him out of Greenville too.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

Since we are actively talking him out of Lexington, I figured may as well talk him out of Greenville too.

The two non-negotiables are Greenville and Chicago

[kscarrol]

And go back and look at my post. I agreed with another post about skipping Knoxville… not Lexington.

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

The two non-negotiables are Greenville and Chicago

We had a great time in Chicago Nov 2021, loved that city. It was incredibly clean, friendly and walkable.

If you have time for the Architecture Boat tour, definitely do that.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

We had a great time in Chicago Nov 2021, loved that city. It was incredibly clean, friendly and walkable.

If you have time for the Architecture Boat tour, definitely do that.

Today must not be your day.

I'm doing a road trip from Greenville to my home in Chicago. I'm really just looking for recommendations in Greenville and en route to Chicago - potentially stopping for a night in cities like Knoxville, Louisville, etc.