Wife and I are heading for Hilton Head Island this weekend in Paddy the BRG Clubbie S - I convinced her we can get the golf clubs and luggage in the Clubbie

Any way We are going to incorporate the Dragon in our route for the trip down and I was wondering if anyone has any hints or suggestions they would care to pass along regarding the Dragon. (overlooks or stops along the route etc). Is it heavily patrolled by the locals?

Since we are going North to South we will stop at Deals Gap to see what trinkets we can purchase

Dennis

 

assume cops and if someone waves down or flashes lights there IS a cop ahead. Take your 1st pass easy then have fun on the way back.

Don't cross the center line no matter what.

Also see http://minisonthedragon.info/Driving-the-dragon.html

Have wife wave for pics.

 

I frequent the Dragon, heck I was just on it yesterday! Definitely heavily patrolled, especially on the weekends. Speed limit is 30 MPH. Just leave your car in second gear and don't go too fast unless you have line-of-sight. Also, if you gets some rice bikes on your butt, better to pull over and just let them by, some of them are real idiots, like the one that passed me and the two bikes in front of me in one fell swoop on an outside, blind turn. Saw a bike wreck yesterday. Must have just happened before I arrived, several cars and bikes had stopped in the road to check on the rider who was in a ditch.

So, the best advise, respect the Dragon, watch for cops, don't ever cross the double yellow line and have fun! There is really only one pull-off, around 1-2 miles from the north entrance to the dragon, and it's worth pulling off, great views on either side. Also, there is a gas station/diner at the intersection of 129/28 just after crossing into NC. They have good, reasonably priced food, and t-shirts and other Dragon stuff.

Good luck

 

If you're staying in the area, I can heartily suggest Tapoco Lodge, if you like rustic cabins on a river

I've never been there with my Clubman, but rode my 1975 BMW R75/6 down to the area last year from Toronto. Awesome on a motorcycle.

Make sure you drive the Cherohala Skyway too - much longer more scenic route than the Dragon (which while fun, is pretty intense if you're planning on driving it at speed).

Beautiful area - take your time and enjoy it. Watch for motorcyclists Take lots of pics including a dash-cam video of your run back and forth through the Dragon - make sure you do it both ways, and watch for road-side photogs.

You might find pictures of you driving through on www.killboy.com or other online photog sites. They will sell you hi-res images of pics they take of you (or others). Make sure you check in there and at other similar sites.

 

+1

Agree. Did the Cherohala Skyway as well yesterday. Fantastic road with lots of scenic pull offs. Nothing too challenging, just a great road. BTW, the leaves are already changing at the higher elevations, so lots of yellows, oranges and reds to be seen.

 

This is my rather bumpy wind-noisy video of a portion of my ride on the Cherohala. Unfortunately I don't have a video of the Dragon, but we're going back down soon so I'll have another chance.

You can see my speedo/tach - 70-90 mph on most of the ride. Was fantastic Make sure you watch the end as I pull into a viewing pulloff.

 

The Tapoco Lodge was for sale in May. I haven't been down since, but would imagine it's still for sale...too bad...nice place.

 

Wow - not only is it for sale, it's closed. Too bad. Glad I had the chance to stay there while it was open.

 

Like I tell folks in drivers meetings at drivers schools and autocrosses, "Drive within your ability".

Remember, your head is connected to your right foot and your right foot controls the speed. Drive as fast as you want, as long as you drive as smart as you can.

When it comes to the turns on the Dragon, or any road for that matter, easy in, hard out. Simply, drive into the corner at a nice safe speed, once at the apex of the corner, hammer the throttle. If you drive in too deep, you spend the rest of the corner getting back on line and will ultimately end up being much slower and having much less fun.

As for the Dragon, while it's fun (I can do "Gravity Cavity" over and over!) most of the surrounding roads are just as much fun. Hellbender leading to the Dragon has more open sweepers, where the Dragon is mostly connected hairpins. But they're ALL fun!

Drive safe, be smart and stay on YOUR side of the road. Period!