June 17, 2025

2025 Smoky Mountain Tour

You, your favorite car and six days of the finest views, experiences, food and–our personal favorite–driving roads the Smoky Mountains have to offer.

No, it’s not a dream, but our annual Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour, which started on Sunday, June 8, and ran through Friday, June 13.

Here’s a recap of what you missed:

Sunday, June 8

All guests arrived at the host hotel, the Westin Chattanooga, for a chance to settle in before a welcome cocktail reception and dinner at the hotel.

Monday, June 9

It’s not every day you get to slay dragons, but that’s exactly what the participants of our Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour had the chance to do today.

Of course, we’re talking about the famed Tail of the Dragon, regarded by many as one of the world’s best driving roads.

Also on today’s itinerary? A scenic drive of the Cherohala Skyway, lunch at the Tapoco Tavern in Robbinsville, North Carolina, and dinner at Easy Bistro in Chattanooga.

Tuesday, June 10

Ever go to a new restaurant and leave so impressed that you decide to bring your friends the next time you go? Yeah, that was us after experiencing the newly opened Savoy Automobile Museum.

For the second day of adventures, tour participants taking part in this year’s Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour were treated to a tour of the Savoy’s extensive collection and a private catered lunch at the museum.

After the trip to the Savoy, we led our guests back to the host hotel, the Westin Chattanooga, along some thrilling southern Appalachian mountain roads.

Wednesday, June 11

Yes, Appalachia is home to some truly great driving roads, but it’s also home to some stunning scenery, too.

For day three of our Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour, we treated participants to some challenging roads before stopping at Fall Creek Falls State Park to take in the iconic waterfall and enjoy some lunch.

The day’s activities also included dinner at St. John’s Restaurant in Chattanooga.

Thursday, June 12

June 12 might be the last day of adventures for our Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour participants, but that doesn’t mean we’re dialing back the excitement.

First up was a visit to Chattanooga’s Point Park for the chance to take in the stunning panoramic vistas of the city and surrounding areas.

Our guests then loaded up and headed to The Coker Museum for an exclusive tour of the collection–led by Corky Coker’s daughter, Casey Coker-Jarvis–as well as a private lunch at Corky Coker’s Honest Charley Speed Shop.

Lastly, we took the participants along a lengthy driving loop to give the area a proper farewell.

Friday, June 13

Our guests enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before checking out and parting ways,

 

Smoky Mountain Tour registration closes May 8

Stunning mountain vistas, world-class car collections, delicious food and some of best driving roads the Smokies have to offer–that’s what’s in store for our Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour, June 8-12.

Interested? Don’t wait, as your chance to reserve a spot closes in less than a week on May 8.

The Westin Chattanooga will serve as our home base during this five-day tour, with four days of driving on famed and challenging roads like the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherohola Skyway.

You might even learn a thing or two as we visit unique collections like The Coker Museum and the Savoy Automobile Museum. Love the outdoors? In addition to the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains, we’ll also visit sites like the Fall Creek Falls.

 

Smoky Mountain Tour: Drive the famed Tail of the Dragon

If there’s one road that captures the imagination of many motoring enthusiasts, it’s the Tail of the Dragon–and with good reason. It consists of 318 curves in 11 miles, and you can experience that first-hand with us on the Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour.

This is just one of many incredible driving excursions during our tour that’s based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
February 28, 2025

Smoky Mountain Tour: Private tour of the Savoy Automobile Museum

Photograph courtesy Savoy Automobile Museum
What won the “Best Attraction for Car Lovers” from USA Today last year? The Savoy Automobile Museum–and guests on the Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour will experience a private tour of its collection.

Special exhibitions being displayed during the June 8-13 tour include “Fabulous Fiberglass,” “Stunning Studebakers,” “Barn Finds” and “Harvest Highway.”

This is just one of many incredible stops during the Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

February 17, 2025

Smoky Mountain Tour: This is why Chattanooga is a destination

Photo by Sarah Swainson
Why make Chattanooga and its Westin Chattanooga the hub for this year’s Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour? Because the Scenic City rocks.

Don’t take our word for it. According to Visit Chattanooga, Lonely Planet named Chattanooga as the “Best in the U.S.” and “10 U.S. destinations you need to see.” The New York Times put Chattanooga on its list of “Top 45 Places to go” in the world.

Why?

Chattanooga offers a vibrant arts scene, fine dining, natural beauty and amazing things to do.

The good news? The Classic Motorsports Smoky Mountain Tour serves as your personal guide to the hidden gems in Chattanooga and surrounding areas while also offering you a few opportunities to explore on your own, too. It's a recipe that will leave you with an unforgettable trip that you will talk about for years to come.

Reserve your spot today. Space sells quickly for our tours, with our Empire State Tour in September already having a waiting list.
January 31, 2025

Next on the Schedule: A Reimagined Smoky Mountain Tour!

As registration for the Orange Blossom tour closes this weekend, another door opens: and it’s a door to the Smoky Mountains!

In case you didn’t hear: our Smoky Mountain tour this year is all-new and fully redesigned to be based out of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of the South’s best small cities.

Although this tour is one of our longest-running annual adventures, it’s gotten a complete refresh for 2025 and will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before, even if you’ve been on a Smoky Mountain Tour with us in the past.

We’ll be honest: the move to Chattanooga was forced by nature, thanks to hurricane Helene’s devastating impact on North Carolina, and we entered the planning for this tour with a lot of apprehension about how to proceed in a different host city while respecting the time needed for our original host city, Asheville, to recover.

That apprehension went away as soon as we spent some time in Chattanooga testing routes and scouting locations for the tour. The energy and beauty we found in Tennessee were undeniably refreshing.
The Volunteer State features some of the best roads we’ve ever driven, and they’re wide open, not clogged with tourists and bikers. The same goes for the breathtaking scenery and delicious food. And as for accommodations and amenities, Chattanooga offers a walkable downtown filled with restaurants (several of which we’ll be visiting), true southern hospitality, and a genuinely outstanding host hotel: the Westin Chattanooga.
Chattanooga and its surrounding areas also boast some considerable automotive attractions. We’ll be visiting Corky Coker’s Honest Charley Garage and the Coker Museum, Byron DeFoor’s extensive collection, the beautiful Savoy Automobile Museum, and the nearby Flatrock Motor club, where you’ll have a chance to get your car out on its impressive circuit.

We’re proud to have this new Smoky Mountain Tour on our 2025 roster, and hope that you’ll be able to join us June 8-13th to find what we’ve discovered in Tennessee.

 

Smoky Mountain Tour

Image Source: Westin Hotels & Resorts
Due to the impact of hurricane Helene on Asheville, NC and the surrounding areas, we made the decision last month to move our Smoky Mountain Tour to a hub city on the other side of the Smoky Mountains: Chattanooga, TN.

We’ll be based at the beautiful Westin Downtown Chattanooga, which you may already know as the host hotel of the annual Chattanooga Concours. It is one of the nicest hotels we have ever had the pleasure of staying at on our tours, and we’re sure you’re going to love it. This hotel features world class accommodations, covered, secure parking and fantastic shops and restaurants within walking distance.

Planned excursions include a visit to the Savoy automobile museum, the Jack Daniels Distillery, the Tail of the Dragon and Flat Rock Motorsports Park.

The dates for the 2025 Smoky Mountain Tour are June 8-12th.

 

Smoky Mountain Tour Location Update: We Choo-Choo-Choose Chattanooga!

Many of you reached out to us after Hurricane Helene asking if we were still planning on basing the 2025 Smoky Mountain Tour in Downtown Asheville. While we had been excited at the possibility of returning to Asheville in 2025 after a year with no Smoky Mountain Tour, the impact of the storm there made it clear that it would not be possible, at least not this time around.

That being said, the Smoky Mountain Tour will still be happening in 2025 on the same dates (June 8-13), but in a new location: Chattanooga, TN.

We’ve selected the beautiful Westin Chattanooga as our host hotel, meaning we’ll still be based in a bustling downtown area with plenty to do and explore within walking distance.

Learn More

Here’s a preview of what we’ve got in the works:

Sunday: Relax, unwind and enjoy the amenities at our host hotel or hop right into downtown Chattanooga and see the sights. You can visit the Tennessee Aquarium, meander down the riverwalk, or grab some coffee in a local shop. Once we’re all checked in and settled, we’ll head to our welcome cocktail reception and dinner in one of the hotel’s lovely dining spaces.

Monday: Today we’ll head west to Ruby Falls, the iconic roadside attraction at Lookout Mountain. From there, we’ll visit Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg and stop back at the hotel to freshen up before a dinner out on the town.

Tuesday: We’ll make our way to the infamous Tail of the Dragon; widely considered the ultimate driver’s road. At the end of “The Tail” we’ll sit by the river at the Tapoco Tavern and celebrate our achievements. Dinner will be on a Tennessee River cruise.

Wednesday: We’ll stick a bit closer to our home base, visiting a couple of local car collections and taking shorter route to venture out to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. How you spend this evening is up to you - see the sights, do a whiskey tasting at the Chattanooga Experimental Distillery, take a guided ghost tour, learn to blow glass at Ignis Glass Studio, or just enjoy dinner in one of the city’s many great restaurants.

Thursday: For our final driving day we’ll head southeast. Our destination will be the newly opened Savoy Auto Museum, where we’ll receive a private tour from the founders. We’ll wind our way back through wonderful roads in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Upon our return to the hotel, we’ll have drinks followed by our farewell dinner.