My wife and I are taking 10 days the end of this month to go gypse style around the area of the Dragon's Tail. No hurry and no need to be anywhere at any time. We have never been there and have no real idea of the must sees and must do's. Could you all recomend places to stay, places to do and things to see, and share maybe a few pics. Any help would be helpful, and also anything not to do or see. Thanks in advance.

 

Nice place to stay is the Two Wheel Inn in Robbinsville. As far as where to ride, anywhere in that area is good. Just go get lost.

 

Definitely don't miss Wheels through Time musuem, Maggie Valley.

Route 28 from Deal's Gap to Cherokee is a great ride.

 

I like the dragon, cherahola skyway, moonshiner 28, visiting Fontanna Dam and everything else about that part of the country. You are also plenty close from there to jump on the BRP. The stretch between Cherokee and Ashville is the highest elevation and great riding and scenery.

You really can't go wrong anywhere you head out in that area. Have a great trip.

Dennis

 

We stayed at the Best Western Mountainbrook in Maggie Valley. If you're a HOG member, get the Best Western Ride Rewards Card. It's free and you're automatically enrolled at the Platinum Level which gives you free upgrades and more points per stay.
MV is a very nice little town, away from the congestion of Pigeon Forge/Cherokee/Gatlinburg but pretty close to all major rides. There's an awesome motorcycle museum to visit there and lots of good bars and restaurants with very reasonable prices.

As far as rides, pretty much any road over there is worth it. On top of my list, the Blue Ridge Pkwy, the Cherohala Skyway, the Foothills Parkway, the Dragon, and Rte 441 between Gatlinburg and Cherokee through the Smoky Mntns Natl Park.
Don't forget to visit Smoky Mnts HD in Maryville TN after you've done the Dragon and get one of their awesome t-shirts.
If you like to gamble, visit the Harrah's in Cherokee.
Something to avoid? I'd say Pigeon Forge. Traffic is horrendous especially on weekends and I'm not into amusement parks, fast food joints, and game arcades.

 

Places to stay:
www.ironhorsenc.com
www.abbeyinn.com
www.rockywatermotelandcabins.com
www.johnathancreekinn.com
Two Wheel Inn is a great place as well.
All good folks and biker friendly, Ironhorse Lodge is a motorcycle resort.
This is a great time to visiting the area but be at least a little prepared as it can pour rain and/or get cold up in the elevation.
Ride the Dragon so you can say you did it but get a map and plan the loop for the Dragon and Cherohalla Skyway, round trip is a bit over 100 miles and well worth it.
Hwy 28 is a great road from Robbinsville/Bryson City area all the way down ito South Carolina (sounds alot further than it actually is but a dang good day ride.
If traffic isn't to bad you can ride over the dragon and hit Foothills Parkway over to Townsend and turn right towards Gatlinburg (tourist trap as is Pigeon Forge) turn right at the Smokies Visitor center and head back up over 441 into Cherokee and turn left on Blue Ridge Parkway just before Cherokee (unless you want to head into town for the casino.
Many great roads up in these mountains so best I can tell you is to hit some of the bike friendly web sites and pull down some ride maps (www.tailofthedragon.com has some).
I'd kill for 10 days to spend up there and I only live 2.5 hours away!
Whatever you do if you like old scoots you must, as mongoose said above, hit the Wheels Through Time musuem. The owner and his staff are great folks and the musuem is fantastic.
To bad you ain't going 9/10 - 9/12 as there is a couple of good rallys going on in Cherokee and Maggie Valley, Cherokee Suvivors Rally and Thunder in the Smokies.
Have a great time and ride safe.

 

I ride in that area a couple times each year. IMHO I would not miss out on riding "The Snake". It's a little ways from The Dragon, but well worth the trip.

Start from Boone NC and head towards Bristol TN on US 421. Shady Valley TN is about halfway and there is a Motorcycle "Resort"...gas station similar to that of the Dragon. Continue till over the lake (before Bristol) and make a right just past the lake. Make your way through the tip of Virginia back to US 133. Take 133 back to Shady Valley where you will cross 421 and continue straight on 91. 421, 133, and 91 make up The Snake. Somewhere short of a 200 mile round trip from the Boone NC area.

IMHO better riding for us cruiser guys than the Dragon and way less crowded. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the Dragon.....but you won't be disappointed in the Snake. Lots of things to see along the way.

 

Great info here, covers a lot of what I was interested in. Are these lodgings in dry areas?

 

Heading there on the 12th myself.

 

My gf and I were there for the 3rd time last month. One road we did that we hadn't been on before is Wayah Rd., from Topton to down around Franklin. Mountains, valleys, lakes, streams, you'll see it all on this road. It's a 2-lane road with little to no traffic at all. I will be riding it from now on every time I'm up that way.