limey940

Well, im finally making it to Deals gap this weekend. ive wanted to go for a long time, but everything came togther at a silent auction where my wife and I won a weekend at Old Edwards Inn and an off road driving lesson at Biltmore.
Coincidenmtly last months excellence road tested a Boxster and GT3RS in the same area and the testers stayed at the same inn.
cant wait to take the car around soem of thoise great roads, if anyone has been out there before and has any recomedations I wpuld love to hear from you.

cheers

Dudley

Go early, the road can get crowded later on. If I remember correctly, the road opens @8 am. The road was also blocked at the Tennessee line due to rock slides.

simplysql

That's a fantastic driving road- we went last year, and it will completely wear you out! Weekdays are better - not as much traffic - but take your time and enjoy.

Bruce R

Been there many a time you'll love it. Even better you'll love the surrounding roads because they are not as well "known" and are less patrolled (see run in with the law at 2:14 below) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0F1jkS1t5E
Two of fav's include the much faster Cherohala Skyway to the West of the Dragon (aka Deals Gap), more of a 3/4 gear set of curves than the Dragon's 2/3 gear set.
http://www.cherohala.com/
and Wayah Road, also in the area.
http://www.wayahroad.com/

xupkid2

I was just there in my 911 2 weeks ago. Luckily there was only 10 or so bikers there. Its amazing. The road has been open but the Deal's Gap resort just opened this past Tuesday. Give yourself plenty of time to get some runs back and forth. Also make sure you get a chance to drive the Cherohala Skyway. It takes a little over an hour if I remember correctly.

I dont believe the road closes at any certain time as its a public highway and locals were talking about making runs at 4am.

Have a blast

StanThePorscheFan

Bring a paper bag. I had to slam on the brakes and stop as my wife's mouth filled from all the tossing. Watch for bikers, they get a little carried away. Lots of cops on that road too.
When You've had enough of the Dragon, head towards the Cherohala Skyway, it's a must. It offers over 40 miles of twisties, climbing from 700 feet elevation to over 7000 then down to 1100 on the other end. While there, stop for lunch at Snowbird Mountain Lodge (call ahead to see if it's open) for best views of the mountain range. Another good lunch stop is Tellico Plains Bakery. Fontana Dam is spectacular and is another must-see. At one end of The Dragon, there is a souvenir shop. Get The Dragon's Breath Habanero Hot Souce, it's real good. For everything else that The Dragon has to offer check out this site: http://www.tailofthedragon.com/


Enjoy yourselves, have fun, stay safe!

limey940

Thanks a lot guys, love the video Bruce, cant wait to get there.
i also read (in the excellence article) that R28 is pretty nice. My wife has requested that she spend soem time at the Spa while om doing this, she didnt enjoy the couple of laps we did at a track day...
thanks again

gravedgr

I saw quite a few "yellow line violations" there, Bruce. Still a fun road to drive, though.

limey940

doug
have you taken your GTS up there yet
cheers

NC 997

This is a great time of the year to go.. not a lot of bikes, or squids, and Tennessee's finest won't be out in force. I'd strongly recommend you make a run through it at the speed limit, just to make sure that Barney Fife isn't hiding in the bushes, then go back and have some fun. The Dragon is not a 'fast' road, it's 'technical' road. You'll see what I mean once you run thru some of the corners that are so tight you can read your own license plate number.

One word of advice for running Deals Gap - stay in your own lane.. No joke.

Consider the Cherohala Pass that runs between Robbinsville and Tellico Plains. I don't know where you're coming in from, but there's a great 3-hour loop that I frequently run from the start of the Dragon at the NC border west to where 129 junctions with Hwy 72, then I turn left on 72 to 411, then south on Hwy 360 to Tellico Plains. There are a couple good places to eat along the river. In Tellico Plains you can pick up 165 east back toward Robbinsville (165 turns into 143 once you cross back into NC from TN) where you’ll come out on 129. If you turn left it’s a short drive to the start of the Dragon. If you map it out you'll see the loop I'm discussing.

From there I'd strongly recommend you consider running Hwy 28 to where it junctions with Hwy 74. You can get on 74 and run all the way to Asheville, but watch your speed - NC's finest love to watch 74.

Depending on how much time you have, there are some outstanding twisties in the Asheville area. Look at the roads around Hot Springs, which is just a short drive NW from Asheville.

Have a good time..

limey940

Thanks so much, will look at the map tonight. Im actually coming up from Charleston, SC tomorow afternoon. We have to be at the Biltmore Sat lunch time for the land rover driving, so i can drive sat afternoon and most of sunday.
thx again

fjpdds

I was there on Saturday. Traffic was light. Stay in your lane is the best advice. Oncoming cars and bikes come up sneaky fast.
Have a great time.
Thumbs up on Cherohala Skyway!

Dudley

Last May, I had just picked up my "new to me" GT3 which my wife and I were driving back to Boston. We stayed at a B&B one night of the trip in Asheville. She is a late sleeper so snuck out with the car at 5am to practice the Dragon. It was a very foggy night and I got to Deals Gap @ 6:30 and still dark - the entry to the Dragon was gated and the sign said the road would open at 8 am. I don't know if they close due to fog - but it was closed. I drove to Ashville in time for breakfast, pack and head back to the Dragon with my wife. I returned by 10 am. We followed a few bikes up and the GT3 felt like a 4 wheel bike. We got to the end and Tennesse was closed. We ran the dragon three times that day and headed to the Gap for lunch.
A great road.

sjfehr

I'm going to be camping in the Shenandoahs this summer with the cub scouts, and was really looking forward to doing the mountain twisties. We have an issue at the moment, as only two adults are signed up, but 8 boys. IMHO it's easily solved; either more dads go, or their kids stay home. The committee chairman had the gall, though, to ask me to take my SUV so I can ferry half the kids to camp! Can you believe it??

Sorry, I've only got room for 1 passenger on this trip. There's no way I'm driving 5 hours to the mountains and leaving my Porsche at home.

gravedgr

I have not yet. We're far enough away that I don't want to plan a trip up unless I'm sure the weather will cooperate, and this time of the year its very unpredictable with 30+ degree swings from day to night. I'll probably try to talk some folks into a March/April ride up.