Top-down on the Foothills Parkway. Miata first, everything else second.

The Foothills Parkway runs along the ridge lines on the south face of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Section 1, from Walland to Chilhowee Lake, is 17 miles of smooth NPS pavement with open views and a manageable grade. It's not technical driving — there's no 30 mph hairpin section and no blind entries. It's long, sweeping, open road through one of the most scenic corridors in Tennessee.

The Miata exists specifically for this kind of road. Two seats, a soft top that drops in seconds, a 2,200-pound chassis that doesn't fight wind or grade changes. At 50 mph on an open Parkway section with the Smokies in your peripheral vision, the Miata argument makes itself. Every other car in the fleet is better at something else. The Miata is better at being a Miata on a road like this.

Turo searches for 'convertible rental Knoxville' or 'convertible near Foothills Parkway' often land on our listings. We'd rather have you book direct — you get a lower price, and for a convertible booking you can confirm the car's current condition with us directly before you commit.

Section 1 is 25 minutes from TYS and 15 minutes from Maryville — close enough to use as a morning drive before anything else. A common pattern: pick up at TYS, run the Parkway before 9 a.m. while it's empty, then continue to Cades Cove, the Dragon, or Roaring Fork depending on how the day unfolds.

Section 2 (the former Missing Link near Townsend, completed in 2018) connects to the eastern end of Section 1. The full Parkway from Walland to Coker Creek runs about 33 miles. On the right morning, running the whole thing top-down before 10 a.m. is one of the most underrated drives in the southeast.

If you're combining with the Dragon, the Miata is a fully capable choice for both — it's the original Dragon car anyway. The day looks like: Parkway in the morning, Deals Gap in the afternoon, dinner in Robbinsville or back in Maryville.

Convertible availability is tighter than it looks on search. There's one Miata in the Drive865 fleet — and the same car appears on Turo and here. The Turo approval flow means there can be a window between your request and confirmation where the car is in limbo. Booking direct locks the car immediately and puts you in direct contact with us for any questions before the trip.

For trips where the whole point is a specific car on a specific road, that communication line matters. Ask us about the top mechanism, weather conditions, tire spec. Questions like that get answered fast when you're talking to us directly rather than through a platform thread.