Clingmans Dome - Gatlinburg, TN

I rode highway 441 from Pigeon''s Forge all the way to Clingman''s dome. The main reason it took me 2:20:00 is because of the repeated stops at select vista points. The grade is gentle but due to its length, you can feel like you''re climbing forever. So you must have focus first, before trying to disrespect the climb mainly because it will feel like all of Tennessee is in their cars driving beside you upto the summit. Speaking of summit, it can be over crowded and foggy. We rode up to the top and even up the steep ramp (11-15% grade) to the overlook. The walkers were not pleased with us, neither did we know that bikes were not allowed. Once we were done tooling around there, we made the fast tricky descent down the mountain in pouring rain and 35 mph traffic. Make sure your brakes work and put on your lights as you go through the tunnels, otherwise some serious harm may occur to you. Overall, a pleasant experience..rating 4. I will not recommend a beginning cyclist to do this climb.

My personal climb rating:

A fabulous climb but also a heavily travelled road. I left before daybreak in late October 2010 and was rewarded with a very peaceful climb (few cars this early). Quite cold at the top and therefore a chilling but thrilling descent - though more cars by now, most of whom were displeased by my presence (even in full-out downhill bomb). Wonderful choices for recovery meal - pancake houses, Bubba Gump, etc, etc...

My personal climb rating:

The climb to Clingman''s Dome is a delightful, accessible, scenic, and historic road cycling climb. As an amateur cyclist, my quickest climb (start at Sugarland Visitor Center) was only 2:06:30 (20.0 miles) for a 9.5 miles per hour average.

Suggested corrections: average and maximum percent grade (32.9 km and Gradient/rise 1474 m is roughly 4.48%), and I think the maximum gradient is about 10% (guess). Start should be at the Sugarlands Visitor Center (National Park Service), where the desk has kept the climb log book for decades, thus distance closer to 20.0m/32.2km. A small descent near the summit requires a ''re-climb'' of at least fifty meters, if that factors into the climb statistics (or just the description), thus net climb closer to 5000ft/1524m. Mountain chain for this climb should be the Great Smoky Mountains.

My personal climb rating: