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THE SNAKE @ HWY 421 – 489 CURVES IN 33 MILES
‘421 The Snake‘ runs along Hwy 421 east from Bristol and is not for the faint at heart. Many of the mountain roads, as well taken care of as they are, consist of hard turns and switch-backs, almost inviting danger. Trust in fellow driving enthusiasts is a must and there is often no advanced warning of an oncoming vehicle as you hit a hard left or right turn.
It is very comparable to the Tail of the Dragon and, considering that the crowd isn’t present, is definitely a much nicer driving enthusiast run. Here is a bit of a vid showing the twisties from a different camera angle, front and lower center…
And then we found it necessary to stop for a bit of a break. Admittedly, I had to moderate my level of excitement to coincide with my partners at this point. Karen had so much fun she lost her breath…
After this run, we thought it might be best to give her a rest and have a bit of lunch. From here we checked into Fontana Village Resort for the night and headed down to the Tail of the Dragon for a quick run.
We get absolutely no discount for printing this, and in fact they haven’t a clue that we are including them in this report but, Fontana Lodge is close to the Tail of The Dragon, down the street from one of the few area gas stations, has several restaurants, a grocery, rooms are great and it is very well priced.
TAIL OF THE DRAGON – 318 CURVES IN 11 MILES
The Tail of The Dragon is found on US 129 in North Carolina. For anyone visiting for the first time, it is a must but can be a bit trying when busy. Quite frankly, it can feel like your all on a rope on a busy day.
Take the time to explore some of the other area runs such as Cherohala Skyway, Diamondback 226 or Moonshiner 28. On arrival at Deal’s Gap, we weren’t out of the car 5 minutes before we were asked to lift the hood.
This is also another familiar site on the West end of the run so beware. Local police are always situated somewhere in the area and typically have someone stopped; let’s hope its not us.
On this day, we did two runs of the Dragon, myself and then, totally surprising to me, Karen wanted to take a crack at it. This was quite the surprise as the last time she got behind the wheel, she threw an error code in switching driving modes.
She completed the tail in 24 minutes, but more importantly, took the time to explain how good she felt about the cars handling when done.
On both runs, there were accidents somewhere during the route and, in both cases, were motorcycle drops without injury….very common.
Excellent write up, Les. That is one amazing journey. Color me jealous.
Thank you so much for documenting your adventure! I’ve always wanted to do a cross country road trip/adventure. Seeing the glimpses of what it is like truly motivates me to create my own journey some day soon. I love the not having a schedule part! Simply plan loosely, and hop in the car and see where it takes you. I can’t wait. I currently have a c6 Lingenfelter that I might take the journey on.
Again thanks so much. Rarely do I ever find an article that keeps my attention from beginning to end. This one truly motivates me. I’m glad you and your wife had a great time and a safe journey.
Take care!
Thank you very much Parker and I hope we meet up someday. This was quite the compliment and feel free to share or pass this on within any circles you feel it may be valuable!
im so jealous!
Les, thanks for your story. Enjoyed it immensely.
My wife and I are leaving form Ontario for the west coast in 2 weeks. Plan to be away for 6 weeks. Mode of travel is our new 2019 Grand Sport. I’m feverishly working on details and gathering information to make sure we don’t miss anything along our planned route.
We did a week practice run in the Vette to Gatlinburg Tennessee that included the Tail, Head and Back of the Dragon and also the BRP and Skyline Dr. All went well so we are now stoked about the next trip.
Question: What did you use for luggage? We managed out of typical carry-on bags for the week. But I know we’ll need more of a variety of clothes with us out west as we are going to hit the real mountains. Weather can be anything. We want to be able to take the top off the car at any time during the trip so the bags need to fit below it.
Thanks, Paul