A friend and I spent two days out riding a ton of dirt and gravel roads in the Pisgah National Forest area in western North Carolina. It was a nonstop good ride, even with the sudden sleet and windstorm we got caught in up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a road that was blocked by a fallen tree that caused some backtracking. There were lots of hidden gems along the way, like unexpected waterfalls and mountain lakes just popping up as you came around a switchback; it was more fun finding them by accident than by trying to research them and go looking for them. I did include one photo of one of these surprise waterfalls, here:
It goes way up that hill, and splashes down through multiple levels. Very serene.
There are some very small isolated communities that you ride though on those dirt and gravel roads, also. We stopped at this place:
It's a great little place in a community called Edgemont, established in 1895, and walking through the doors was like taking a step back into pre-WWII America. It's owned and operated by some really friendly and charming people, and well worth taking a break from riding there.
This is a map of the general area, if you're looking for a great place to ride on some non-technical dirt and gravel:
To help locate the general area, the store is located at 8971 Edgemont Rd, Collettsville, NC 28611.