Tail of the Dragon

Tail of the Dragon

18 stops· 27 min· 9.3 mi

Eleven miles. The famous count of three hundred and eighteen curves. No stoplights, no driveways, no straight worth the name — just US-129 writhing across the Tennessee–North Carolina line at Deals Gap, the most legendary stretch of asphalt in the eastern United States. Ranger Quinn rides shotgun to keep you safe and pointed the right way — the speed limit's thirty and heavily enforced, the double-yellow is sacred, and the views are worth the pull-offs. Ranger Boone Merrick brings the tales: the crash-part shrine called the Tree of Shame, the dam where Harrison Ford took the leap in 'The Fugitive,' the Cherokee who never left these mountains, the giant that powered the atom bomb, and how a nameless mountain road became the Dragon. Drive it in either direction — we've got you both ways. Watch the centerline, and enjoy the ride.