mal28

I will be driving from Ohio to Asheville NC in Oct., staying at the Grove Park Inn,

any suggestions for nice drives in this area?


thanks

Renn 951

You've heard of Tail of the Dragon? 318 curves in 11 miles?
Tail of the Dragon

mal28

sounds great, thanks

KBS911

The Dragon is about 1 1/2 hours from Asheville. Nice day trip if you get the chance.

kocsis

Funny, I'm right at the base of the Smokies today, and just heard about the Tail of the Dragon - my lodge offers motorbikes to ride it (if you can show you're a good rider). This place (Blackberry Farm) is also a demo center for Lexus, so I drove the two seater and the small and large SUVs. (Don't have my Pcar here, I'm from Boston). Boy, what a disappointment! Driving each of the three cars over windy roads was just a horrible experience. Even the little two seater is nothing to brag about - avoided the Tail, as I figured it wouldn't be fun.

hlc

I recently drove several exoctics through World Class Driving (Porsche GT3, Ford GT, Noble, MB SLR, Gallardo, F430). We started at Grove Park Inn. Ask the concierge for direction to Elk Mountain Rd/Pkwy- it is about 1-2 mile from Grove Park. Take it North- dead ends into Blue Ridge Pkwy. Take this North. Great roads, scenery, and tunnels. It is a blast to hear the exhaust echoes in the tunnels. Go early in the AM as it is less crowded. Unbelievable

Maxsar

My kids went to camp near Ashville so I was at the Grove Park Inn a couple times this summer. We went South towards Asheville and took the exit by the Airport. I forget which one it is. If you follow that highway towards Brevard there are a slew of great driving roads pretty much everywhere you look. There are also some small waterfalls that you can walk up to. I apologize I don't remember the road names. I only know how to get there.

As for Blackberry Farm it is a shame kocsis didn't have his car. The Dragon is about 30 minutes away. The only problem would be the traffic going through there. I went through a couple times going to and from Atlanta two weeks ago. I would say that 3/4 of the time I was slowed down by traffic. I had a better time on the other roads in the area. The Dragon is fun, but you won't go more then 40 or 50 mph with all the twisty turns. That being said it is still worth going through if you are in the area. It is an amazing road. I would take the 2 seater Lexus. It will still be fun. Going back to Blackberry after your adventure only makes it better. What a great place.

mal28

I have been thinking of doing the WCD, was it worth the cost?

hlc

In my opinion it was. The cost is aprox. the same for full day rental of Ferrari however you get to drive the cars back to back. Thus you can make better comparisons. The event is well organized. You can drive as fast as you want albeit public roads. If you are into grand touring/rally this is for you. If more of track guy then not. Lastly, you can take your spouse/significant other which makes for a fun date.