Tail of the Dragon

[Ishin]

So wife wanted to go look at the mountains and the trees turning colors.Where to go though, been all around the north Ga. mountains.
Google different phrases and kept seeing "tail of the dragon". Decided why not, be something different and the turns look pretty damn cool.

WOW what a fun time, if you have never done this go do it. I was worried about the cops being out but I only saw 1 guy on the side and he was just standing there lol. Plus once you see the curves... you won't speed to much.
I was there to have fun, have a nice day with the wifey not race or scratch my baby up. Went up and back down and had fun both ways. Ran into a little bit of traffic, going the same way I was and they were nice enough to pull off so I could pass them by. Wife actually volunteered to record the drive, but watching it bout makes me want to puke lol.

Saw some fellow 5Gens , but saw a lot of Mustangs too.







BTW the leaves were pretty too

[Ishin]

[2nd SS]

Yes - The Tail of the Dragon is a blast. Got to do it last Spring with the Club. Going to do it again this spring. Can't hardly wait.

[KidKilowatt]

I had some fun there this summer, now I am moving to North Carolina, excited to have this in my backyard

[Misty]

I am traveling out to Knoxville, TN then on to NC to visit my family in April. My sister was telling me about this hwy. Can't wait to get the chance to check it out.

[2010 SSRS]

Great pics, that must be lots of fun

[GnyaTek]

Originally Posted by Ishin

Saw some fellow 5Gens , but saw a lot of Mustangs too.

If you saw a whole group of 5th Gens and Mustangs together, you might have passed the Muscle Car Ministries' Fall cruise. I was wanting to make it to that event, but wasn't able to swing it this year.

Last year I attended that run and had a ball ... think there were about 25-30 cars if I recall correctly with about 1/3 being 5th Gens, and the rest being a mix of years of Mustangs.

[hotwheels13]

Thanks for the mention GnyaTek... our Muscle Car Ministries Cruise for Cancer last Saturday was a blast, and it ended with the Tail of the Dragon before we had a cool bonfire!

We had 43 cars on our 170-mile cruise down the Cherohala Skyway and ending on The Dragon... lots of 5th gens, a few older Camaros, several Corvettes, quite a few Mustangs, one Challenger, and one Mazda Miata... I think that pretty much sums it up.

Wish you could have joined us! Check out the pictures and videos on our Facebook page, Muscle Car Ministries!

Thanks,
Steve
hotwheels13

[SUKXOST]

I HEARD that the Tail of the Dragon trip is overrated.

"The road is not blocked off, so you have to deal with normal traffic and the nature of the road(double yellow and gazillion curves) it's hard to get a spirited drive for any distance at all".

Confirm or deny

[GnyaTek]

Originally Posted by SUKXOST

I HEARD that the Tail of the Dragon trip is overrated.

"The road is not blocked off, so you have to deal with normal traffic and the nature of the road(double yellow and gazillion curves) it's hard to get a spirited drive for any distance at all".

Confirm or deny

It depends on what you are looking to get out of the drive.

If you are looking for a wild set of twisties that you can ignore speed limit and run it as if it was a closed raceway, than you will be disappointed. (Please note, I DO enjoy spirited driving, and was able to get enjoyment out of this drive)

This is public road and speed limits are set appropriate to it (though, like most places, speed limits are lower than what our cars can handle). Yeah, you gotta deal with the other folks on the road, including the small groups that run no more than the speed limit (and sometimes below - *cringe*). Due to the twisty nature of the road, there are virtually no passing zones and the road is single lane in each direction for most of the way.

The best way to cope with that and to be able to get enjoyment out of the push and pulls going into and out of turns is to just back off a bit to let the slower traffic stretch out some distance and then catch back up with more "spirited" driving. You can also stop at some of the lookouts and wait for a large enough gap in traffic to be able to have some fun with the road (just please be careful!). Unless you hit a weekend that has a lot of car/bike club events planned, there is normally enough gaps in the traffic to allow for quite a bit of fun.

The road is patrolled, and they try to crack down on "excessive" speeds and recklessness, but on the day of last year's Muscle Car Ministries Fall Cruise, I didn't see a single police car.

The drive itself is a beautiful one and a great one to cruise, especially when the colors are changing and in spring as the trees are starting to bloom and leaf out.

I think the drive itself is worth it, you can push the pace in places or make the gaps to do it, but need to be aware that others are on the road (quite a few accidents occur there as motorcycles or cars going to fast cut a turn into oncoming traffic, or miss a turn completely).

[SUKXOST]

^ Confirmed...got it. LOL

[Angrybird 12]

I have been there many times and it is always fun.
The best time to go is the middle of the week on non holiday weeks. Less traffic and cops.
Usually make a run through at a leisurely pace, then make a return run when you are fairly sure it's safe. Most of the time if the road is busy people will flash their lights to warn you of cops or other dangerous situations ahead, but you have to be very careful anyway. Many people think they are better drivers than they really are and get in over their heads and end up crossing into the other lane on blind curves. Always be prepared for that.
I have had a few close calls with drivers like that, and if have seen several accidents where people have run off the road.

[WildOne]

I've been several times with all of my cars...right of passage so to speak!

Hoping to put together a trip with Mid FL Camaro Club next September for a long weekend...look out!

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by SUKXOST

I HEARD that the Tail of the Dragon trip is overrated.

"The road is not blocked off, so you have to deal with normal traffic and the nature of the road(double yellow and gazillion curves) it's hard to get a spirited drive for any distance at all".

Confirm or deny

If you haven't experienced it yourself you just don't know what it's like.
We do have another road up this part of the state called the Snake. It's fun too and not nearly the traffic or cops...