I go to the area a couple of time a year. When we stay the the Deals Gap....it is always a circus. It is fun to ride the Tail of the Dragon on the way out to better roads, and also on the way back in......mornings and evenings the road is less crowded, and Sunday afternoons always seem to be less busy. I have not yet ridden it with the NT700 yet - but on my Suzuki Savage Cafe' bike and my Ninja 250 the road is a blast......with the ST1100 I sure did scrub off a lot of tire trying to make it hustle through the tight turns (it much preferred the Cherohala Skyway the bigger sweepers!
Route 28 from the Highlands area up to the Dragon is a great road. From Waynesville over toward Brevard Route 215 is a great road, and it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway at the top of the mountain. Wayah Road is west of Franklin and east of the Nantahala Outdoor Center and is a great road that is mostly up a creek valley.....don't ride the side road up to Wayah Bald if you don't like 2 miles of rough gravel road.
There is a road very much like the Dragon that is about 30 miles long - but it is not busy as the last 2 miles are gravel. We have been on the road and only saw 1 car on the entire road. The road is just off I-40, west of Ashville and about halfway to Knoxville, near the town of Cosby. It takes a bit of looking to find it.....GPS helps a lot.
Route 28 from the Highlands area up to the Dragon is a great road. From Waynesville over toward Brevard Route 215 is a great road, and it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway at the top of the mountain. Wayah Road is west of Franklin and east of the Nantahala Outdoor Center and is a great road that is mostly up a creek valley.....don't ride the side road up to Wayah Bald if you don't like 2 miles of rough gravel road.
There is a road very much like the Dragon that is about 30 miles long - but it is not busy as the last 2 miles are gravel. We have been on the road and only saw 1 car on the entire road. The road is just off I-40, west of Ashville and about halfway to Knoxville, near the town of Cosby. It takes a bit of looking to find it.....GPS helps a lot.
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