A Traveler's Experience

Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway (GA)

I could not wait to take my brand new Nissan 350Z to the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway, one of my favorite local National Scenic Byways. It was a sunny 58 degree day in Atlanta that January in 2003. I thought it would be a perfect time for a nice warm southern winter day drive to the Northern Georgia mountains. I was wrong.

I called one of my car-freak buddies and we took the two-hour trip up to the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway. I soon realized what a different climate it was up in the mountains compared to sunny, warm Atlanta. For most of the byway it was actually pretty nice, around 44 degrees and mostly cloudy. Then we decided to venture to Georgia's highest point, 4,784 ft. Brasstown-Bald. We quickly jumped onto the 180 Spur leading up to Brasstown. I couldn't believe how quickly the weather changed.

First of all, I have driven all over the Southeast, and have completed around 11 of the National Scenic Byways. This Spur is one of the steepest grade, twistiest roads in the South. I highly recommend it during the warm months, but January! My buddy and I were climbing the Spur at a good pace and all of a sudden it was blizzard conditions. The temp dropped to 28 degrees and the winds picked up to about 40mph and the snow started coming down. As we climbed the Spur the winds increased and the snow started falling sideways because of the strong winds. Further up the Spur we started going over a few isolated ice patches, but we were almost to the top and decided to keep going. Right before you get to the top of Brasstown it becomes INCREDIBLY steep and the whole road turned to ice. Before I realized this my car stopped moving and started sliding backwards on the ice sheet. Luckily the tires I had were brand new and caught the car before we slid backwards off the mountain.

To sum up, the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway is a beautiful loop to take and a very fun route for you sports car and motorbiking enthusiasts, just not in the middle of January!