Three hundred and eighteen curves in eleven miles — it's on every shirt and sticker in the shop, and it's the number that made this road famous. Here's the honest truth about it: nobody counted them with a survey crew. Three hundred and eighteen is essentially a marketing figure, one that got settled on while the Johnsons were building the legend, and it stuck because it's specific, it's enormous, and it sounds exactly as ridiculous as this road feels. Could be a few more, could be a few less, depending on what you're willing to call a curve.
What isn't exaggerated is the shape of the place. Eleven miles, and not one straight stretch worth the name. No stoplights, no cross streets, no driveways, no houses — nothing to pull out in front of you, which is one of the Dragon's few mercies. Just the road folding back on itself, corner into corner into corner, until you lose count somewhere in the forties and simply drive. So don't get hung up on whether it's exactly three hundred and eighteen. Get hung up on this: somebody promised over three hundred curves in eleven miles of American road — and delivered.
Photo: David Hunter from Łódź, Polska · CC BY 2.0
