A great loop for our visitors is the Smoky Mountain/Dragon Loop. The 141 mile loop with stops can be easily traveled in a day.
The Loop begins at the Dragon and includes 32 miles of the Moonshiner 28 with some great twisty sections and scenic mountain views. Don't forget to take a short one-mile ride out to see the amazing Fontana Dam.
Bryson City on US 19 is a quaint town with several good places to eat. We like the sandwiches at the Fuel Stop on Everett Street or a bowl of soup at the Everett Street Diner across the street. Anthony's Pizzeria on Depot Street has excellent pizza.
Another 10 miles down US 19 is Cherokee, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Here there and numerous shops, places to eat and Harrahs Casino.
Taking US 441 north brings you past the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Climbing 16 miles to the North Carolina/Tennessee Border brings you to the main Overlook with many mountain vistas along the way. A seven mile long road leads out to Clingman's Dome, the highest elevation in the Smokies at 6,643 feet. Here you can stretch your legs on a half-mile hike to a viewing tower. Visibility here ranges up to 100 miles on a clear day.
The Tennessee section of US 441 is all downhill to the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg. Thanks to some great repair work it has been reopened after a major landslide. TN 73 runs twenty miles along the Little River. It has been named as one of the top ten scenic roads in America. A side road leads seven miles to Cades Cove, an eleven mile one-way scenic loop. A word of warning: this route of twenty-five miles in and out will probably take several hours due to traffic.
TN 73 ends at Townsend, a pastoral mountain community with a few places to eat and fuel. US 321 leads seven miles to the Foothills Parkway. The Parkway runs 17 miles to USA 129 and has some beautiful scenery at the many pull-offs.
Take a left onto US 129 and the Tail of the Dragon starts in three miles.
