Tail of the Dragon - Other Scenic Roads / Dining nearby

In reply to ddavidv :

I'm partial to this one (there is an occupied baby seat behind me)

Observations so far on the trip, and to record my thoughts for future searchers.

1. Don't start hiking at 10:30 AM in these temps. It's hot, but it does get a bit cooler above 5000 ft.

2. This section of the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville is a fun drive. Much better than the BRP sections I've driven up towards the Boone area. Sharper more frequent turns.

3. The road from the BRP to Looking Glass Falls is a fun drive. Not a lot of traffic and you drop a ton of elevation quickly.

4. Grave Yard Falls on the BRP, is a fairly short hike and ends in a nice swimming hole. And they have the rare bathrooms on the BRP.

5. We went from a new very modern condo in Asheville to a very rustic cabin in the woods down a 1 mile long dirt road, with the last 1/4 mile of just the driveway. It sets on a peninsula way above Fontana like. Large vinyl collection, haven't used a record player in probably 40 years.  It's like stepping back 40 years in time (well minus the retrofitted central AC thankfully). Eclectic mix of music. I can't tell if the owner has eclectic tastes, or just bought every vinyl album at every yard sale.

For automotive content. My wifes 2020 base Macan, is more fun than I thought it would be. Doesn't have enough power to pass on the long uphill freeways easily, but on these 2 lanes is doing fine. Must run in sport mode to keep it from shifting up, and to keep turbo spooled, or leave it in manual and cycle between 3rd and 4th. The stock pads need to go, horrible squealing from the front under light braking after they get hot. It's not a sports car, but she wouldn't daily one of those anyway.

bbbbRASS said:

Robbinsville has a great place to eat called "The Hub." It's more of a breakfast/lunch spot, also a coffee shop. 

For future readers, apparently The Hub burned to the ground a couple of years ago.

Me and a few of my Terseo buddies went down end of March last year.

Fan freaking tastic time was had.  We really didn't hang out on the dragon, beyond initial drive in the morning then one more time at evening.

We had much more fun on the other roads.  Cherohala Highway I drove like 9.8/10 as there was noone around.  We just went hard.  I have never driven roads I didnt know that hard before.  I do not recommend this behavior 😂 

In reply to wake74 :

Nooooooooo!

This past winter, the Skyway did have the road wash out on the Tenn side, at lower elevations.  It should be fixed by now, but just be a bit cautious just in case.

I'm not much of a Dragon fan. Too much traffic and too many people who seem to be out to win the race. Pass

We camp in Sylva, NC fairly regularly at Moonshine Creek Campground. This is one of my preferred loops. We'd pack a lunch and make a day of it. If you want to stretch it you can also run 74 out to Cherokee and take 19 back through Maggy Valley to Waynesville. There is a fair amount of traffic if you do that. 

wake74 said:

bbbbRASS said:

Robbinsville has a great place to eat called "The Hub." It's more of a breakfast/lunch spot, also a coffee shop. 

For future readers, apparently The Hub burned to the ground a couple of years ago.

That sucks. At the first Dragon Hillclimb I was a course worker and catered dinner was at the Huddle House in Robbinsville and it was bacon wrapped filet mignon. lol 

not normal but anytime I go by it I think about how I had a fancy dinner there.

In reply to Toyman! :

I've ridden most of that loop, great ride with scenery. Reminds me I need to go riding for fun more, mainly ride to work and back to save gas.

Two big wins for today:

Our marriage survived a double ducky trip although I apparently wacked her in the head with the paddle multiple times trying to get facing the right direction before the last big drop in front of NOC. We didn't get stuck and stayed upright, so I will call that a success  

And I made it up to Tail of Dragon. Thankfully almost no traffic. In the 22 miles round trip, I pulled over twice to let quicker cars by, and two folks pulled over to let me by. It was one of those fun things to do once. Not my favorite road. Not enough flow between the corners, and too much sawing back and forth. 

Ran out of time on this trip to make the Cherohala. Next trip. 
 

However, 28 south starting at the dam near the lodge in Tapoco was amazing. Follows the river for miles composed of perfectly connected 3rd gear sweepers that went on for miles. Just perfect flow. Only saw one car (briefly). A GT3 flashed me twice and i briefly saw his tail lights as he went by. He (or she) was having a good time :-)

Neat fog on the river resulted in some cool views and pictures on 28 this evening.