So about a month ago work was slow & I was contemplating where to go or what to do for my upcoming vacation. The idea came into my head of driving the Tail of the Dragon. I couldn't shake the thought, but driving 1,000 miles solo was going to be rough. Well I mentioned it to a few friends to gauge some interest & next week (5/2 - 5/6) Pseudosport & I are making the trek down there in the 08 Si Sedan. Now I know that over the years the road has become quite the tourist trap so we're calling upon our fellow GRMers to recommend other sites/food/roads in or around that area.
And yes, we are driving just about 1,000 miles to drive on an 11 mile road.
I have only been there once but when I drove through at 9-9:30 in the morning I was about the only one on it. Of course that was in February as well.
No ideas on other sites though.
wbjones
SuperDork
4/22/11 4:22 p.m.
I live within 50 mi of the dragon ... and have never driven it 
there are many other roads in the western tip of NC and the eastern tip of TENN that I've just never bothered with the crowds on the dragon 
The Dragon is cool.... but the Cherohala Skyway is awesome, too. Devil's Triangle, etc etc etc...
Stay in Knoxvegas.
If you're wanting to go a little ermmm.... "faster" on the Dragon, the best time to do it in terms of traffic and heat from "the man" would be at dusk/night time.
I actually find it much less nerve-wracking to drive it at say... midnite, than 2pm. The sun bugs me, makes it harder to see cars coming the opposite way.
Damn this puts in perspective how awesome the roads are in my back yard. I wouldn't have imagined going 1000miles for the Dragon, but then I live 50-60 miles from it and haven't been up there in a couple years, thanks to all the publicity it got a little tricky to aviod Johnny Law. It is an amazing road, have fun.
Part of it is for the road trip, the Dragon just happened to be the destination set. I'll have to check out the Triangle & Skyway. Obviously with "The Man" & the torqueless wonder all out driving isn't the plan. Spirited, yes.
If your heading down 81 and you like animals, I highly recommend this place.
http://www.virginiasafaripark.com/
Some of the caves in this area of Virginia are pretty cool as well.
There are multiple rides that you can take in the general area of the Dragon that are similar roads but not as well known. Do not, I repeat, do not go to the Dragon on the weekend. You will only follow the pace cars and bikes that come up to experience the ride only to find that they dont have the talent or balls to drive the road. If you come, take the full circuit and do the Skyway along with the Dragon. I live within 45 minutes of the Dragon and will make a periodic midweek midafternoon drive on a mental health afternoon to clear my head. If you go to the Killboy.com site for last Tuesday, you will probably seeks pics of the Lotus.
If you decide to follow up on your plans, make sure that you touch base with some of us locals and we can point you towards the other roads. A favorite is Route 161 which takes you towards Ky and the Big South Fork nature area and the old Brushy Mountain prison(built into the side of the mountain and never successfully escaped)
In response to fastmiata
Now that's what we're looking for, roads off the beaten path. We'll be there from Tues/Fri so hopefully we can get a decent drive on the Dragon before heading out to other roads. And we will be asking locals for food, no chain restaurants.
