Piney Flats, Cripple Creek, and Sycamore Shoals 41.5 miles, 2,100’ elevation gain
● start/end at Hunter First Baptist Church, 693 TN-91, Elizabethton, TN
https://www.strava.com/routes/3669005
http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/1286950127/
From the Hunter community this routes takes cyclists west on Stoney Creek Highway (TN-91) then north towards Piney Flats. Old Bristol Highway changes to Elizabethton Highway at the Carter-Sullivan county line. Scenic roads through Piney Flats connect with Cripple Creek and a return to Carter County. At the 30-mile mark a short steep hill awaits just before Cripple Creek Loop ends at Watauga Road (TN-400). Sycamore Shoals is another scenic byway with rolling hills and little traffic. After reconnecting with Watauga Road this route follows the Watauga River for about six miles back to Hunter. Most of the roads have wide shoulders. Caution, however, is required when traffic is present on Lover’s Lane and on a short ¼ mile section of Stoney Creek between the Broad Street Bridge and Craig’s Barber Shop.
Cue Sheet: Piney Flats, Cripple Creek, and Sycamore Shoals
0.0 start at Hunter First Baptist Church
0.0 left onto Dawn Drive
0.4 left onto Pierce Street
0.7 right onto Stoney Creek Hwy. (TN-91)
2.9 right onto entrance ramp for Bristol Hwy. (US-19E)
5.2 Cowgirls Cafe
5.3 left turn, cross (US-19E) and follow spur road uphill
5.4 right onto Old Bristol Highway
8.5 Sullivan County line, road changes to Elizabethton Hwy.
10.0 Ridgewood Barbeque
10.5 left onto US-19E
11.7 right onto Bluff City Highway (TN-44)
12.8 left onto Lakeview Drive
13.6 left onto Weaver Branch Road
17.0 left onto Warren Road
17.1 at intersection take left onto Allison Road
18.5 right onto Pickens Bridge Road
20.1 left onto Blalock Road (Fleenor Rd.)
20.4 left onto Edgefield Road
21.5 short steep hill, still on Edgefield
21.8 cross Bristol Highway (US-11E)
22.0 left onto Austin Springs Road
24.4 right onto Piney Flats Road
26.3 left onto Cripple Creek Road
29.6 right onto Cripple Creek Loop
30.6 left onto Watauga Road (TN-400)
30.9 right onto Smalling Road
31.9 left onto Sycamore Shoals Drive
33.7 at Watauga River, sharp bend in road, still on Sycamore Shoals Dr.
36.1 right onto Watauga Road (TN-400)
37.0 Sunshine Market II
37.0 right onto Old Bristol Highway
37.1 right onto Lover’s Lane
37.2 bear left (sharp), still on Lover’s Lane
38.4 go under bridge (US-19E), now on Stoney Creek (TN-91)
40.3 Elizabethton Airport
40.6 Broad Street Bridge (on right)
40.8 Craig’s Barber Shop
40.8 left onto Pierce Street
41.0 right onto Dawn Drive
41.4 right onto South Street
41.5 end at Hunter First Baptist Church