*8:30am: COJ Ride This ride will start at: Townsend Events Center 7930 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Townsend. We will be meeting there at 830am and rolling out at 915am Event by Jamie Parsons and Central Ohio Jeepers Welcome to our Smokey Mountain Jeep Invasion Ride with Central Ohio Jeepers Event! There will be lots of information listed below to help make this ride successful and enjoyable, so please be sure to check it all out. Our ride will wind us through part of Cades Cove Scenic Loop, where we will stop at the Cades Cove Visitor Center for a pitstop before taking on Parson Branch Rd. We will head out from the Visitor Center around 11am depending on traffic through the loop. Parsons Branch is a narrow, gravel one way road that will take us across several small creek waterfalls and through the beautiful wooded area between Cades Cove and Tail of the Dragon. You could be on the trail any where from an hour to two hours depending on trail traffic. Next, we'll be heading down part of Tail of the Dragon to our lunch destination at the Tapoco Tavern. We should arrive around 1/130pm if not earlier. We are estimating around an hour and half for lunch and exploring the historic Tapoco and it's beautiful views of the river, before heading up the Tail of the Dragon with it's 318 curves in an 11 miles stretch. *Photos of Tapoco Tavern's menus will be posted in the event. *While on the Tail make sure you write down the time you entered and the time you exited to the minute, and remember to smile for the cameras. There are camera stations setup on the Tail of the Dragon where you can jump on websites later and search those times to view photos of you hitting those curves in your Jeeps, with the option to purchase. We will provide those websites below. Once we finish the thrill of the Tail of Dragon, we'll be heading across the scenic Foothills Parkway back towards Townsend. There are lots of scenic overlooks and pull off spots on the parkway that are perfect for those photo ops, so feel free to pull off and take lots of pics. We will end our ride back where we started at the Townsend Events Center. We are thinking we should be back there by 5pm, if not sooner. From there you can choose to head out on your own, or take the free shuttles down to the Cades Cove Jeep Outpost to check out their shop and Jeeps Take Over Townsend Event. A link to their website with event info is listed below. *Make sure you take time to "Jeep the Duck" that will be setup there! Considering there are expected to be over 20,000 Jeeps in the area for the invasion, so we are leaving plenty of wiggle room for travel. A couple of things to note for the event: *The ride will be around 75miles, be fueled up and ready to go when you arrive at the Townsend Events Center. *Pack drinks and snacks for you to enjoy during the ride. *If you see wildlife remember the thumb rule. *Cell service is very spotty, and often non-existent in the mountains, and GPS may loose signal. We will be utilizing walkies on Channel 22 and you can find provided mapping directions and photos posted in this event. We encourage you to save these to your phones, incase you need them. A Google Map link of our route is posted below. *Check out links below for more info on the roads we'll be taking and the sights we'll be taking in. *Most importantly, check this event for updates. We will be keeping an eye on weather for the area. In the case Parson Branch becomes washed out, or other areas become un-accessible, we will update and reroute the ride if need be. *Last, but certainly not least, Be ready to make some beautiful memories. Route we will be taking for the ride: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KiTZ16k1jTt7Agbv7 Cades Cove Jeep Outpost Information: https://www.jeepthecove.com/ Cades Cove Information: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm Parson Branch Trail Information: https://www.onxmaps.com/.../us/tennessee/parson-branch-road https://www.nps.gov/.../park-reopens-parson-branch-road... Tapoco Tavern Information: https://tapoco.com/ Tail of the Dragon Information: https://tailofthedragon.com/ Websites for Photos on Tail of the Dragon: https://www.killboy.com/ https://129photos.com/ https://www.129slayer.com/ *These typically post the night of, or the next day, and you'll search for your photos via using date and time you road the Dragon. Foothills Parkway Information: https://foothillsparkwaytn.com/ See less Event by Jesse Headley and Jeeps Only! Great Smokey Mountains Association Public · Anyone on or off Facebook This is always a fun ride and highly requested! We’ll take a drive to Cades Cove and then out an old mountain road, finishing at Cades Cove Jeep Outpost! We will meet for the ride at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center (the bigger parking lot), roll out about 9:30-10am. Address: 1011 Banner Rd Gatlinburg, TN 37738 It’s going to be a great ride this year!