[Tano22]

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Many of us are members of this forum because we share a common passion for our cars. Whether you own one or you’re just an enthusiast/fan, I think it’s safe to say that we all believe that these cars aren’t just about going from point “A” to point “B,” but the fun you have along the way. And the driving experience is always more fun if you have great roads to drive on, where you can really experience and enjoy the dynamics of the car and extract just a little bit more excitement (within the confines of the law, of course).
Unfortunately, I live in South Florida. I’m from here, I love it here, I’ll likely never leave. But alas, South Florida is as flat as a sheet of paper and its roads are straight and dull. Moreover, for the past several years I have found myself driving less and less. Partly because COVID led to more remote work and less commutes to the office, and partly because my wife and I have a baby daughter and her X3 is the vehicle of choice for any outings. My G82 was delivered in July 2023, and as of the end of October, I had only 5,300 miles on it.

The above circumstances, combined with unhealthy doses of Top Gear/Grand Tour (and a few of the awesome threads on this forum), got me thinking about taking a road trip in the fall. The itinerary would have to fit within my work and family schedule, so the trip couldn’t be overly ambitious. By most standards, it would have to be modest. I convinced my father and two of my brothers to join me. He drives a C8 Corvette Stringray Z51 that he took delivery of a couple of months before I got my car. He was enthusiastically in.

We thought that the Smoky/Blue Ridge Mountains were a perfect destination, particularly during this time of the year when the leaves and temperatures are changing. I went over a ton of different options. I did a ton of research and planning, to the point where my wife got VERY jealous and remarked that I never took so much time to plan any of our family vacations. She could tell I was locked in. After several weeks of planning, I came up with a 4 day itinerary that included:

- Tail of the Dragon – This road doesn’t really need much of a description, I think most of you know it. 11 miles, 318 curves along North Carolina/Tennessee border. Basically a car/motorcycle enthusiast Mecca.



- Cherohala Skyway - 43-mile scenic byway connecting Tennessee and North Carlina, and passing up the mountains along two national forests.



- Newfound Gap Road - A scenic road, overlapping with U.S. Route 441 into and through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

- Foothills Parkway West - a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, connecting to historic U.S. Route 129.

The way I organized the routes, we’d effectively split these routes up into two days of driving, each day covering about 225 miles or so. The distance was a little bit longer than it could have been, because we chose to set up home base at my friend’s cabin in Blue Ridge, GA, which is about an hour south of Tail of the Dragon. That's about as far as we could comfortably drive in one day (about 12-13 hours north of Miami, where I live). There were plenty of other choices which were closer to the area, in places like Gatlinburg, Cherokee, etc.

I’m sharing some screenshots from Google Maps of the routes we took, in case anyone is interested in doing the same or similar loop. Also, if anyone from the area has his/her own fun experiences, I’d be interested in reading, because I may go back to further explore the area. Sadly, we weren’t able to get everything done on our itinerary, but it was nonetheless a pretty awesome trip, and I thought it was worth sharing with you.

I'm still going through photos and videos and trying to put some stuf together to share, so I will update this thread as I finish editing. I already have some Tail of the Dragon stuff I can share in next post. I'll also have some GoPro video etc. that I'll be able to share once I get it uploaded. In the meantime, here are some photos of the cars.

EDIT - Quick Links to Youtube videos:

Tail of the Dragon:

Cherohala Skyway:

[Tano22]

The plan for Day 1 was pretty simple. Wake up, head to Tail of the Dragon, get a few runs in, eat lunch at Tapoco Lodge, and ride back home via the Cherohala Skyway.

Along the way, we stopped at Yellow Creek Falls, which is a trail about 15 minutes south of Deals Gap/Tail of the Dragon southern entrance. We got out of the car, strapped on some hiking shoes, and enjoyed the falls for a bit. If anyone wants to do this, I'd recommend setting aside about an hour. Attaching a photo of the falls.

Everything I read suggested that you should try to get to the Dragon early on a weekday morning to avoid traffic. We went on a Friday morning and found the traffic to be manageable. We’re not race car drivers and we didn’t want to drive overly aggressively anyway. And even if we were inclined, there’s a significant police presence along the route, given its popularity amongst car and motorcycle enthusiasts. Moreover, Friday morning was wet and overcast, which had me further disinclined to do anything risky. Once we got there, we pulled over at Deals Gap for a moment before heading off.

The Dragon did not disappoint, although traffic and weather were a factor. Obviously, you don’t need anywhere close to 500 horsepower to enjoy the twisties. The speed limit is 30mph in most places, with some of the sharper hairpins lowering the limit to 15. The last thing I wanted to do was let overzealousness and foolhardiness lead to a mistake, so I drove it pretty conservatively. That said, I tried to keep the revs up to at least enjoy the torque from spooled turbos, and I put all the settings in their sport/sport plus settings with MDM mode on 4wd sport. You don’t need to drive fast to enjoy the dynamics of this car on this road. I’m definitely a novice so there were a few instances where I had to correct mid-corner, and my shifts were anything but clean, even on the very forgiving ZF8. Again, this wasn’t a speed run and I’m not a professional. It was a great chance to explore a side of the car that I am simply not accustomed to in South Florida, and I’m really glad we were able to do it.

After our first run (south to north), we stopped at the overlook around mile marker 9 and relaxed for a bit to watch some of the other cars drive by. Even on a damp weekday morning, there was plenty to see. Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions meant that visibility was quite poor, so we didn’t really get to enjoy the vista. And on the drive back to the south, we got stuck behind some traffic and so we didn’t really get to engage in any spirited driving. After we got back down to Deals Gap, we went into the store, purchased some merch to remember the experience, and hit up Tapoco Lodge a little further south for some lunch. Even though the were plagued with light rain and clouds, we ate outside (under cover) alongside the river. I recommend the trout.

There are photographers along the route who will snap your photos, which are available for purchase. I purchased a few and am sharing them with you all.

EDIT - I finished putting together a GoPro video of the north-to-south run. We had clear road in the first four minutes or so, and then got stuck behind traffic, which is a shame. But either way, it was a fun drive and the video should give you all an idea of the conditions and scenery.

[hypzM3]

Cool thread thanks for sharing. Im also in Miami and have wanted to do this trip…we have considered a 2nd home in blue ridge/smoky so something I may consider to check it out.

[JJKiii]

I'm also from S Florida and did the same thing at the end of August in my M340i. I also went on a Friday morning from south to north and it was a blast! Got lucky as weather and traffic were both great. Only encountered two cars near the end and both pulled over to allow me to pass.

I knew about the photographers but when I saw the first one my initial instinct was "Police"! There's at least three different companies doing photos and it's worth it checking their websites the day after.

My plan for the day was to do a clockwise loop around Great Smokey Mtn National Park starting with The Dragon. In hindsight I should have done two more runs as the loop didn't take as long as I thought it would. No cops when I was there so two more runs would have been fun.

[Tano22]

Originally Posted by JJKiii

I'm also from S Florida and did the same thing at the end of August in my M340i. I also went on a Friday morning from south to north and it was a blast! Got lucky as weather and traffic were both great. Only encountered two cars near the end and both pulled over to allow me to pass.

I knew about the photographers but when I saw the first one my initial instinct was "Police"! There's at least three different companies doing photos and it's worth it checking their websites the day after.

My plan for the day was to do a clockwise loop around Great Smokey Mtn National Park starting with The Dragon. In hindsight I should have done two more runs as the loop didn't take as long as I thought it would. No cops when I was there so two more runs would have been fun.

The loop around the Smoky Mountain National Park was on our agenda for day 2, and I'm going to share some content about that day as well. Unfortunately, our plan was too ambitious, and we couldn't really do much. That said, i'd love to go back and finish the loop.

[JJKiii]

Originally Posted by Tano22

The loop around the Smoky Mountain National Park was on our agenda for day 2, and I'm going to share some content about that day as well. Unfortunately, our plan was too ambitious, and we couldn't really do much. That said, i'd love to go back and finish the loop.

Just be sure all the roads are repaired when you go back. Some of them were wiped out by the recent flooding. I luckily missed it by a month.

[Three Pedal Steve]

November is an ideal time to tackle the Dragon. Fewer crowds because of weather fears.
For several years the e92 M3 group from this forum organized a gathering at Deal's Gap on the last Saturday in November.
Even though I have an e92 M3, I am stalking this group because my M3 has 140,000 miles and may get replaced with a new M4.

[wtwo3]

Looks like a fun trip. A group of us just recently went there as well and documented it here. Although we came from the North so it's interested to the route you took.

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2140398

[MMM.PWR]

Nice write up. We did TotD this year (posted above) and last year as well.

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2057223

[Raudiace4]

Awesome trip looks fun, tail in the rain sounds exciting and scary at the same time.

Check out this thread tho

https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2057223

[Tano22]

I have no idea how to embed a Youtube video so this may not work, but I just uploaded my GoPro footage of one of my runs through the Tail of the Dragon. Like I said, we didn't do anything crazy or illegal (obviously). But it's still a fun video and you all may enjoy the perspective and visuals. We had clear tarmac for the first 4 minutes or so, then got stuck behind the traffic, which was unfortunate but obviously something to be expected on a public road.

I had originally planed to connect a DJI Pocket camera to the car's tow hook. The cool thing about that is that the camera is attached to a gimbal, so theoretically you'd get a really great view of the gradient changes as the car progresses through the twisties. Unfortunately, the DJI is not weather-proof and the conditions did not allow me to get it going. Something to look forward to for next time, potentially.

[moriluvatar]

Originally Posted by Tano22

I have no idea how to embed a Youtube video so this may not work, but I just uploaded my GoPro footage of one of my runs ...

Thanks for sharing. The tail is now on my to-do list!

[s58]

Great write up! Those leaves look fantastic this time of year.

Went with some buddies in April and can't wait to go back.

[SneakyHobbitses]

Just wanted to share some pictures from my beginning of the month trip to the tail of the dragon.

[Bimmerfun82]

Try to hit Wayah rd if you can fit it in. Be careful on the way south (near 19/74) for the first few miles because of fishermen, and it’s narrow.

We are blessed to live in north GA. Hit these roads almost monthly between Feb and Nov depending on the weather. Enjoy and be safe. You’re going to love foothills parkway

[Calvin36]

That looks awesome! A 4 day boys trip to drive sounds amazing!! Here in the Bay Area we have Highway 9 they goes from inland to the Santa Cruz coast area. It’s a good drive too! Thankfully it’s only 45 minutes away from San Francisco so no need to make a whole trip for it. Wish y’all had all sunny skies! But wet driving gives it an extra level of fun! Glad y’all were safe and great looking cars! 👍🏻👍🏻

[bocabimmer]

Perfect time to go right now. Just was up in the Great Smokies (unfortunately not in our Bimmers) and the fall leaves were stunning!

[usmcgruntz]

Took my z4 e89 up there a few weeks ago! I don’t live far from there. Would love to have a group ride! Got some picture of it but it won’t let me upload for some reason.

[chrisdavelaw]

Originally Posted by moriluvatar

Thanks for sharing. The tail is now on my to-do list!

The tail is great but I have spent a lot of time driving around North Carolina and Georgia. There are many roads that are amazing and less busy than the tail. Lots of exploring. Nnothing wrong with the tail but it's very busy a lot of times. One of my favorites in North Carolina is route 215 from Rosman to Woodrow. Also Russell Scenic highway near Helen GA. I currently have a G87 Manual and you spend a lot of time in 3rd gear on those roads. The tail is a bit tighter and slower so more 2nd gear 3rd gear back and forth. But I do love shifting so either way it's great.

[Tano22]

Originally Posted by chrisdavelaw

The tail is great but I have spent a lot of time driving around North Carolina and Georgia. There are many roads that are amazing and less busy than the tail. Lots of exploring. Nnothing wrong with the tail but it's very busy a lot of times.

I found that to be the case as well. Cherohala Skyway, in my opinion, was far and away the better experience. I finished a write-up of it and am in the process of uploading the video to youtube. I had the GoPro mounted on my windshield for the duration of the Skyway, which goes about 43 miles. I also had a standalone microphone over the exhaust, to capture better sound. I need to fiddle with the mic gain for future trips, but I think it still came out decently. I also took some photos and drone footage I'm going to share with you all as well. I'd go back just for Cherohala. There's so much more to see.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by chrisdavelaw

The tail is great but I have spent a lot of time driving around North Carolina and Georgia. There are many roads that are amazing and less busy than the tail. Lots of exploring. Nnothing wrong with the tail but it's very busy a lot of times.

What worked wonders for us was going super early in the morning - like leave the cabin before the sun came up. We got to experience a mostly empty tail and have some fun. Not to mention the lighting was incredible peeking through the trees.

[spuntyb]

Very cool, thanks for sharing! Love the rides!