The Tail
of The Dragon, a popular motorcycle and sports car road, is famous for its 318
curves in eleven miles. It begins at Deals Gap in North Carolina, winds through
the remote and scenic mountain area bordering the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, and ends at the Tabcat Bridge in Tennessee. Tour groups from all
over the United States, and worldwide come to experience the thrill of "Riding
the Dragon".
The general route of
highway 129 through the mountains historically offered the most favorable path
for travel between Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, and Deals Gap was
a natural break in the mountains. This route was once part of the old Cherokee
Indian trail system used by the Native Americans prior to European settlement.
It was followed by the first white explorers, hunters, and trappers, and later
by the early settlers. It allowed access to the Cades Cove Community, now a
part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road was used by the
settlers for travel and trade extending throughout the surrounding settlements.
The route continued to be improved as the use demanded, first for horses and
wagons, and later for motorized vehicles. Around 1934 it was paved for the
first time and designated as U.S. Highway 129.
The Tail of the
Dragon is an eleven mile section of U.S. Highway 129. Since modern earth moving
machines were not available in the early days of road building, construction
techniques involved designing the road to wind around all of the mountain
curves, and in and out of every hollow, without benefit of dirt fills to
straighten the path. For the eleven mile section of U.S. Highway 129 that is
known as "The Tail of the Dragon" this process resulted in a pattern of "S"
shaped curves that was determined by the topography of the rugged mountain
terrain, much to the delight of modern day thrill seekers. It is one of the few
places in the world where people come just because of the road!
The Tail of the
Dragon has been voted as the number one motorcycle road in the world. It is
also popular with sports car clubs and other groups. It has been featured in
many motorcycle magazines and has been the subject of numerous other travel and
adventure articles in a variety of publications. Scenes for a number of motion
pictures, including "Thunder Road", and "Two Lane Blacktop" were filmed on
sections of The Dragon. Filming for some of the scenes in "The Fugitive" was
shot at the Tapoca Bridge area, located just south of Deals Gap. Harrison
Ford's jump scene was shot at Cheoah Dam in this area. Some people consider the
Tapoca Bridge as the south end of the Tail of the Dragon, and consider it as a
12 mile stretch, instead of the traditional 11 miles. The "twelve miles in
twelve minutes" challenge considers the Tapoca Bridge as the beginning point of
the Dragon.
Follow U.S. Highway
19 to Highway 129 at the West end of the Nantahala Gorge. Follow Hwy 129 past
Robbinsville to the Tapoca Bridge and Deals Gap. Enjoy "Riding The Dragon"!
|
