Fall colors Smoky Mountains road tour: Tail of the Dragon

There are many great roads to tour the Smokies in the fall but none have as unique a character or such stunning views as the south end of the Great Smoky Mountains national park where you can ride on US 129 - the famous Tail of the Dragon.

What makes this auto tour to see the fall colors in the Smoky Mountains so special? How about 318 curves in only 11 miles of deeply wooded areas or where you are looking out over stunning water and mountain scenery!

Even though we are way past peak fall colors in most of North Carolina there is still some great color to be found along the Tail of the Dragon and all of the vistas this stunning winding road looks out on.

Though the Tail of the Dragon is heavily traveled in the spring, summer and early fall, by now most of the riders are gone and you can find stretches of this magnificent road to enjoy the fall colors and the thrill of driving the Dragon all to yourself.

This road is challenging to driver so you will find motorcycle riders and drivers of high performance cars from around the country who come here. Do not exceed the speed limit ask the road is unsafe at high speed and there is heavy speed enforcement on the Tail of the Dragon.

This road is open year round but can get very rough in snow and ice and if there has been a recent storm and you are one of the first on this road take your time in case there are any downed trees or branches.

One of the best ways to get to the Tail of the Dragon from Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg or Sevierville is to take the Foothills Parkway west until it hits US 129 and then turn left.

Right away the scenery is amazing with sheer rock faces and woods on the left and water on the right.

One of the first big pulls off on one side looks down to water, mountains and a dam pictured above and on the other side you have the mountains of the Great Smoky Mountains national park aflame in reds and oranges contrasting with deep green color.

Further on down the road enjoy all the fall colors while you follow the signs to the Fontana dam. Though the visitor center at the Fontana dam is closed this is a great detour off the main road to check out the fall colors and one of a kind Smoky Mountains views.

At the Fontana dam you will find a picnic area, overlooks, parking areas and at the other end of the dam a trail head for the Appalachian Trail and another hiking trail that will take you deep into the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

The Fontana dam is the largest dams east of the Mississippi and Harrison Ford made his famous jump here in the movie The Fugitive. In the movie the railroad derailment took place here too!

The picture above was just taken at the dam and it shows how low the water is in Lake Fontana but also how much color is still in the mountains.

Get back on the road and head toward Bryson City NC so you can loop back to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge through the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Now that the Tennessee River is to the left of you make sure to check out all of the pull offs to the left for some more stunning fall mountains and river views such as the picture above.

This is still plenty of color in the woods along the roadway and when the road turns into agricultural areas and even rural residential the colors and the scenery is still very nice.

To continue the large loop on the best fall colors motor drive follow the signs to the National Park and take Newfound Gap Road back to Gatlinburg where you will still find beautiful fall colors once you are just past the Chimneys Trailhead parking area.