Top 5 Best Motorcycle Rides in South Carolina (2021 Riding Season Year-End Review)

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We looked at a full collection of 2021 motorcycle riding season data when millions of riders visited MotorcycleRoads.com to find the best motorcycles rides and routes in the USA, Canada, and abroad.  For over 20 years now, MotorcycleRoads.com has been documenting the best/most-popular motorcycle roads, routes, and rides and for about a decade, we have published annual reports after diving into the website's statistics (which routes are riders researching the most, which routes are getting the most photo/video/comment uploads, etc., etc.) to determine which of the motorcycle routes have risen to the top in motorcycle rider popularity.  We look at a complex set of factors (see Note 2 below) to determine which of the motorcycle rides in each of the states and US regions are the most popular and rated to be the best by motorcycle riders just like you.  Our very popular annual "Top Motorcycle Rides per Region" guides cover the best rides for each of the four official riding regions of the USA: the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, and the West.  This year we took things a step further and decided to gone one level deeper and develop guides outlining the Top 5 Best Motorcycle Rides in for the US states and so you are seeing one of those such guides on this page.   

Great motorcycle rides in South Carolina can be found within it's two main regions of scenery. The lower part of the state (to the east and southeast from Columbia) is the Coastal Plain and also known as the Lowcountry. This region is mostly flat, with numerous farms, some marsh areas, and reaching the out to the coast where there are many bay inlets. The Upstate region (west and northwest from Columbia) hosts the Piedmont where thick forests cover foothills and picturesque rivers and waterfalls can be found. Motorcycle ride highlights for South Carolina involve a ride on the Cherokee Parkway and a stop at Table Rock State Park.  Below we've picked out 5 great South Carolina motorcycle rides for you.  So, starting from #5 and working our way down to the #1 best motorcycle ride in South Carolina.

 

After reviewing an entire year of activity of South Carolina motorcycle riders, here are the results:

Top 5 Most Popular Motorcycle Rides in South Carolina!

 

#5 Caesar's Ascent

Caesars Head is a well-known natural site in South Carolina. Located 3,266 feet above sea level, Caesar’s Head is a 16-mile route that offers a panoramic view of the alpine landscape. Take US276 south from Brevard, NC to Caesar's Head State Park, just over the NC/SC line.

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#4 Saluda NC To Chesnee SC Along US 176

From the historic town of Saluda, North Carolina, you need to take US 176 to Campobello, South Carolina. When you reach the southern end, you can choose to take the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. As you leave Saluda, you will be surrounded by mountains and rivers and will view waterfalls from the road.

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#3 Savannah River Scenery

The Savannah River Scenic Byway is a 90-mile route that offers scenic views, views of rural Southern life, and the opportunity to enjoy southern hospitality. You will feel welcome whether you are getting a casual lesson on barbeque customs, fishing pointers, or lessons about the state's involvement in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

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#2 Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway

The Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway runs 130 miles from the Georgia state boundary to the North Carolina state line, following the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The vistas are among the most picturesque of the state's undulating hills.

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#1 Highway 28: Tri-State Tour

This road begins in Walhalla, South Carolina and heads north. Continue on Hwy 28 from Walhalla to the South Carolina/Georgia state boundary, then pass into North Carolina and finish at Highlands. Walhalla, often known as the "Garden of the Gods," contains a variety of stores and eateries. Highway 28 is a lovely, picturesque 29-mile road that passes through waterfalls, mountains, woods, and rivers.

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Note 1:  All facts and figures below were gathered in Dec of 2021 and will change over time as new motorcycle roads are added to the collection.  For an update listing, you can go to MotorcycleRoads.com at any time, search on a state of your choosing, and you'll be presented with a list of the best motorcycle roads in that state.  You can also search on the newest motorcycle routes to be registered in that state as well as sift through the routes based on other filters.  Some examples of filtered searches you can do is to filter results based on - only the routes in your state that have 5-star scenery ratings, or only routes with a 5-star driving excitement rating and at least a 3-star rating for scenery, etc. etc.

Note 2:  How were these popularity ratings calculated? 
A motorcycle road’s popularity can be based on a wide variety of factors.  Our analysis considered some obvious indicators of motorcycle road popularity such each roads’ “Rider Rating” scores (star ratings) and which motorcycle road description pages were visited the most.  But, the analysis dug deeper and looked at some less obvious yet valuable indicators of a motorcycle road’s popularity such as how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “To Ride” lists, how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “Rode it” lists and enthusiasm indicators such how often photos and/or videos were uploaded for a given road and which roads are attracting the most buzz among motorcycle roads indicated by those roads that are receiving the most number of new/recent comments.  For the sake of being consistent and as objective as possible we use a popularity algorithm that “crunches those number” and allows us to develop a ranking of the popularity of each of the motorcycle roads used as a basis for this guide.


Conclusion

As always, I hope to provide you with insightful & valuable motorcycle riding community information to help you get the most out of all of your motorcycling experiences.

I'm always looking for ways to make MotorcycleRoads.com better and more helpful so if you have any suggestions to improve the website, just contact me through the Feedback button you'll find near the top of every page.  And as always, if you have a favorite motorcycle road of yours that is not yet registered on MotorcycleRoads.com, please get that favorite of yours "on the map" by registering it at MotorcycleRoads.com.  Registering a motorcycle road (or event, or club, or place) is quick and easy and you'll be helping out our motorcycle riding community!!! 

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