Gotta love the Dragon. I've been there the past three years and it's been a blast every time. I've heard of the Fontana resort but I've never been there, I usually stay in Robbinsville. Last year we ended up getting pushed up route 28 from Robbinsville and had to stay in a little mountain motel because the town was packed full with about over 100 Smart cars. Apparently they didn't register their trip with Tail of the Dragon's website and so I had no idea anyone would be there.
You can see Robbinsville to the south on this map. Fontana resort is just south of the Fontana Dam label. You can see how route 28, Hellbender, comes off the Dragon and runs into 143, letting you make a big circle to Robbinsville and back up 129. The drive from Robbinsville to the actual Dragon is quite nice really, tucked down in the valley with long, sweeping corners. You can also wind your way through a few different roads for about an hour and a half to get to Gatlinburg to the northeast. The area is pretty neat, and Fontana actually has a lot of stuff to do besides just drive because unless you're going balls out then driving to actually get anywhere gets old real quick.
At the intersection of 129 and 28 there's a motorcycle motel which is always packed full, and it has a small restaurant, shop, and awkward gas station. They also have the Tree of Shame which is an eye opener, full of mangled parts from bikes (and people) who have seen better days. Across the street from there is a small tent selling all sorts of Dragon-branded stuff. I bought a license plate frame there three years ago that will soon have been on three of my cars. I always make sure to get a sticker or two also.
Full size
That gives you an idea of the area. In the full size you'll see the road sign to the right points up 28 towards Fontana and south down 129 to Robbinsville. This intersection is just inside North Carolina, and Tennessee is left (north) while Robbinsville is to the right (south). Oh, and the curve is just the pano, it's actually straight lol.
Things to "watch out" for? Motorcycles are everywhere. Slow local traffic and vacationers are annoying. Every now and then a semi truck ventures down this road because on a normal atlas it looks just like any other highway. It's not until you zoom way way in on a GPS that you can see the crazy curves. They ignore the signs and find out the
hard way.
Also, cops! Don't act a fool in the day time because cops frequent the road, especially on the weekend starting Thursday. By Friday their patrols are constant until sundown in my experience. I don't recommend driving the road hard, but if you want to most sport bikers and sports car people agree that night is the safest time to do it, as long as your lights do their job well of course. Very little traffic, law enforcement, and even animals aren't a big worry, surprisingly. Police use radar on the road for speed, so if you've got a detector and keep a watchful eye out during the day you should be okay. Don't cross the yellow lines for legal reasons and for safety, you don't want to mess with oncoming traffic's space. Idiots still do it though, so when you're making an inside turn make sure to hug the white line, you never know what fool is coming around halfway in your lane. The lanes are quite wide also, and the road is in good shape. It's a pretty safe road in my opinion, and even though most turns are blind hairpins or decreasing radius the road is still very predictable. Excellent driving road, I'm sure you'll have fun.
Have a great time!
Don't you?
