A few miles south of Deals Gap on US-129, Cheoah Dam holds back the Little Tennessee River — and holds a place in movie history. This is the dam from which Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble takes his famous leap in the 1993 film *The Fugitive*, cornered by Tommy Lee Jones at the spillway.
It’s an easy, dramatic roadside stop on your way to or from the Dragon: a 1919 dam, a deep river gorge, and the exact ledge from one of the great chase scenes in film.
Cheoah Dam was completed in 1919 and was among the tallest dams in the world at the time — the setting Andrew Davis chose for The Fugitive’s do-or-die spillway jump.
The stretch of US-129 here runs beside the Cheoah River and the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, some of the most rugged country in the East.
Pro tip: Pair it with your Dragon run — it’s a short detour south on the same road, and the gorge views are worth the stop even if you’ve never seen the movie.
- • It’s a roadside pull-off view — you don’t cross or enter the dam.
- • Combine with the Dragon; it’s minutes south of Deals Gap on US-129.
- • The river gorge is scenic year-round and stunning in fall.
- Is the dam from The Fugitive near the Tail of the Dragon?
- Yes — Cheoah Dam, where Harrison Ford’s character jumps in The Fugitive (1993), is on US-129 just south of Deals Gap, an easy roadside stop to pair with driving the Dragon.
