Tail of the Dragon
Scenic Highway · Tallassee, Tennessee
Eleven miles of US 129 between the Tabcat Creek bridge in Tennessee and Deals Gap on the North Carolina line, carrying 318 marked curves and not a single side road, driveway or building along any of it — Great Smoky Mountains National Park presses against one side and Cherokee National Forest the other, which is why nothing was ever built there. Motorcyclists and drivers come from across the country and from overseas to ride it, roadside photographers shoot every vehicle that passes, and the wrecked bike parts nailed to the Tree of Shame at the southern end are the road's own commentary on how it goes wrong.
US Highway 129 between Tabcat Creek and Deals Gap, Tallassee, Tennessee, 37878, United States
A public highway, open at all times and free. Closes for snow, ice and landslides, sometimes for extended periods — check conditions before driving out. Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort at the southern end keeps its own seasonal hours and reduces them in winter.
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