Deal’s Gap, or the “Tail of the Dragon,” is an 11-mile stretch along US Route 129 and leads you through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It tops all the lists when it comes to the best motorcycle roads in America. Though the road is only 11 miles long it contains 318 curves, many of which are named (like “Gravity Cavity” and “Copperhead Corner”).
The speed limit on the road was originally 55mph, but due to its popularity and heavy traffic it was reduced to 35 in 2005. If you ride this road you will not be able to miss the Tree of Shame, which has motorcycle parts bolted to it and hung off of it by the many people who have crashed there. You will roll through gorgeous Smoky Mountain scenery: lush forests and mountains. The Dragon cuts through mountains that were of the last areas of North Carolina to be settled because of the inhospitable terrain. You may have also heard of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which rolls through the “other half” of the southern Appalachian Mountains. The eastern half of the range is the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the western range is the Great Smoky Mountains. The mountain range spans the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina for 36 miles an is more than 5,000 feet in altitude. There are 16 peaks that measure over 6,000 feet. The mountain roads that cut through the gaps in the mountains naturally are very curvy with a lot of altitude changes: sharp turns, steep drop-offs, and, unfortunately, a ton of traffic, especially on weekends.
