Just got back from one of the greatest driving experiences of my life -- The Tail of the Dragon in the Smokey Mountains. I thought that driving the Blue Ridge Skyway and other roads on my way down there was fantastic, but nothing compares to the chicanes on the Tail of the Dragon. Went back and forth for hours. 318 turns (most of them banked) in 11 miles. Wow.

Oddly enough, there were very few sports cars there. When I pulled up, a tow truck was hauling an early Miata away. It had a smashed rear side panel and a wheel that was at an angle not normally encountered in on-road vehicles. Other than that, I only saw a Z4 and a Saturn Sky, both of them proceeding at a leisurely pace. As for me, I have to confess that after my first pass through the Tail, I threw prudence to the winds.

I heartily recommend this to anyone on the group. I also went on to Charleston for a couple of days, and visited Civil War sites along the way to and from there. In addition, I must have hit every legendary bbq pit along the way. I'm going to have to go vegeterian for a couple of weeks to purge my system of Carolina pig!

Zeiss

 

We've been down there several times now (in the spring and fall with the s2ki group) and it's a great experience. Definitely a trip worth making!

 

Definitely one of those roads I have to try one day.

 

I've received a few enquiries about how to get there. Follow this link for directions. This really is the coolest drive imaginable. You can find discussion about it at the Smokey Mountain S2K forum at this site.

Zeiss

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/maps_directions.html

 

This is me at the bottom of the page (pg. 8). I'm also on pg. 9, 10 and the second row on pg. 11. This could be you, if you drive the Dragon!

Zeiss

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbPage....8693&g=00&s=175

 

If you think it's cool in the S2K you're right!! I had a chance to do it on a motorcycle and that proved to be mind blowing as well!! There is a small campground at the bottom of the dragon, on this land is a big tree full of smashed fairing pieces, car bumpers etcc.... The store also has a collection of pictures of accidents that have happened on the dragon in the past. All in all, the best driving experience I've evr had as well!!