Blue ridge parkway and Tail of the Dragon, Trip questions.

[Mopar Steve]

I'm sure some of you have been there. The wife and I are going for our summer vacation on a driving trip through the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way down to the "Tail of the Dragon". First, is there anything I should avoid? or is there any sights that I should be sure not to miss? Does anyone know of any good bed and breakfasts on the way? Good motels? We only will have a few days so I can't get too far off schedule.

I just bought a GoPro camera to take video along the way when the driving gets interesting.

Yes, we are taking the '03 Viper. Not a ton of space for luggage but like I said only a few days. I'll have my GPS so getting gas shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Thanks, I appreciate any info we can get before we leave.

 

[Steve-Indy]

While I have no personal knowledge, here is the itinerary from the recent multi-Region VCA trip which hits some high points and names one hotel:

VCA Forums Official Thread: http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/...-Dragon-Thread

2011 Tail of the Dragon

The following is the general itinerary of the 2011 Tail of the Dragon Run. This annual event draws participants from several states and appears to be growing every year. We'll try to change a few cruise routes this year to keep things alive, but some things will never change! Based on past experience, there are some delays built-in that will allow us to stay on schedule and possibly add a site-seeing stop. Please note that we are scheduling a theater show Saturday afternoon for an entertaining rest break. This show will not appear as a scheduled show on their website, it will be added to their schedule for us and opened to the public as well.

Friday June 3rd Knoxville->Tail->Pigeon Forge
9:00am Earlybirds begin arriving to eat, gas, meetup
10:30am LEAVING ******* Barrel to Cruise to Cherahola Market/Exxon
12:15am Arrive Cherahola Market/Exxon, meetup with southern members, get gas/snacks
1:00pm Cherahola Skyway to Robbinsville, NC
2:45pm Arrive at Deal's Gap, meetup with GA/SC members
3:15pm Tail of the Dragon @ Deal’s Gap
4:30pm Cruise to Pigeon Forge via Foothills PK
5:30pm Check-in at Country Cascades
7:00pm Dinner at Alamo


Saturday June 4th Pigeon Forge->Smokies->Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge
8:00-9:45am Breakfast, car cleanup, gas
10:00am LEAVING for Mountain Cruise (Clingman's Dome, Lunch)
1:45pm Return to hotel
2:30pm Leave for “Grand Magic” Theater Show (http://grandmagicshow.com/)
3:00pm Theater Show
4:45pm Return to room
6:30pm Leave for Gatlinburg (Parade!)
7:00pm Dinner/Sightseeing/Shopping
9:30ish Return to Pigeon Forge (on your own)

Sunday June 5th Pigeon Forge->Home
9:00am Breakfast
10:00 TBD group cruising/drive home



Book Hotel: Country Cascades @ 800-223-6707.
48 hrs cancellation policy.
$72+tax (Omelet & Waffle Bar bkfast included).
Reference AL/TN Viper Club

More details of the routes will be posted in the next couple of weeks.
If any IN/KY folks are interested in driving down in a convoy, I will be leaving Shelbyville at 6:30am on Friday June 3rd.
Thanks,
Jason Mattinson, IN/KY VCA Southern Director aka "Stretch"
​

 

[Stretch]

Drive the Cherahola Skyway, it's a great road!

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Drive the Cherahola Skyway, it's a great road!

+1. Far better road for Vipers than the Dragon (speed wise). Dragon has very tight turns, the Skyway has sweeping turns and less traffic most likely

 

[jmillsUT28]

+1 for the Skyway!

 

[CEJ]

+1 for the Skyway. It is really spectacular.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is also a nice ride.

I did the Dragon on a Triumph 955 and just about got killed by some fool on a Ducati coming around a bend in my lane while he was passing a car. That was enough of that.