So ever since I got the MINI I've been looking forward to driving it on some really nice twisties. Well, every summer I Go down to Montana from Canada and vacation for a couple weeks. On the way down there this one road that I have been dying to try out in a car that can handle well. I got the MINI in Nov and well my drive is just a couple weeks away. I'm so exited.

Check this out!

If you have a favorite stretch of road you want to share, please go to google maps or some other mapping program and share the link...

 

wow, thats awesome

 

Maybe you've been here. We live in the town of Kula on Maui. It's just a 30 min jaunt up to the top of Haleakala Crater. Elevation 10,000 feet.
Quite a few twisties too! Next time I'm up there I'll take some pics of my car and post them.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...38366&t=h&z=15

 

I can see why you're looking forward to taking that road. Have fun.

CROC 411

 

This looks like a wonderful place to go. We'll keep that one on the list for next summer. I've wanted to post about "What's better than the Tail of the Dragon?" but haven't yet. We just went on vacation and avoided Tennesee because of the LEO situation there, specifically on the Dragon. But we found http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...e=UTF8&t=h&z=9 in West Virginia. It's Highway 33 from Elkins WV to Harrisonburg VA. I've never been to the Tail of the Dragon. But when we got off this, both my wife and I said to each other, how could the Dragon be better than this? It's a wonderful combination of twisties, ups & downs. When you think you can't go any more, a nice peaceful straight to rest for a min or two, then back into it. Fabulous drive. (and we didn't see one LEO)

 

Looks like a cool drive. How much is the airline ticket for the MINI?

 

Nice roads!

I HAVE driven the Dragon, several times. The combination of condensed twisty-ness and NO driveways / cross streets is most of its allure. And it IS awesome.

That said, there are other roads I like better. My favorite one these days is NC215 from Waynesville, NC to Rosman, NC. Insanely awesome 35 miles that goes up 3000 feet on the front half and down 3000 on the back, crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway at Devil's Courthouse, near the highest point on the Parkway. Very little development, very little traffic, no enforcement that I've ever seen, a few pedestrians to watch for around the few waterfalls you pass, but otherwise a fantastic drive. And beautiful scenery.

 

This one's fun where I am:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...,0.611801&z=11

 

On our vacation we did the bottom half of your route. We came in on the Blue Ridge Pkwy (the road to the west on your map). We had planned to do basically every road in your map, but turned out to not have the time. And I found hwy 33 to be as or more challenging than the bottom half of 215. Also an excellent choice.

 

Any road where I'm driving the MINI is pretty much the best road ever at that point in time. Sure some don't have twisties, but it's also fun to stretch the legs and let the MINI's powerhouse have the spotlight for a bit!

Not to mention it's always nice to get all those envious stares.

 

I actually just drove that last Weds and Thursday...not a bad road but I would NOT recommend taking the MINI on the road to Many Glacier...it's brutal.

Be careful of the Bears and Moose...I had close encounters with both on the road as well..at a blistering 45MPH.

 

Another nice drive in East Tenessee/West North Carolina is Hwy 421 from Bristol, TN to Boone, NC; specifically between Shady Valley and Mountain City. It was very Dragonesque and had no driveways or side roads either once you get to the twisties. Its in the Cherokee national forest so its a nice scenic drive that follows the Watauga river. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...=UTF8&t=h&z=12

 

Yep - 421 is another excellent drive.

 

reasons to go down under:

reason number 26 - the Great Ocean Road

http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/Highlights.aspx

I did this every Sunday for a year (albeit on a Suzuki GS1000, not a Mini).

I've never topped it, although the year I spent doing the Sunday Morning Ride out of Mill Valley to Point Reyes was a VERY close second...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

 

Blimey, I took a big loop down 19 from bristol, and then came back up 421 and I was incredibly disapointed until I hit the twisties past Mountain City on the way back to Bristol. Google maps made the whole run look really good, but I was almost upset about wasting my time and gas until I got to the good part.

 

Great thread! Down in the flats, we have to settle for less, but
Jones Vaughn Creek Road
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...=12&iwloc=addr
Sligo Road
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...=12&iwloc=addr
Maurepas to French Settlement (LA)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...4&ie=UTF8&z=13
Enon to Bogalusa
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...2&ie=UTF8&z=12

 

Some nice twisties in the Roan Mountain, TN area also.

 

I drove the Dragon at MotD a few years ago and was a little underwhelmed. I wasn't exactly puttering along, and I had several encounters with MINI drivers and motorcyclists going far, far too fast for conditions (it was misting out that morning), flying up on my rear-end and staying glued there. Where there were turnouts, I let them go by, and saw them skittering all over the road for the brief periods they were in front of me... Also saw a lot of complete morons crossing the double-yellow to apex blind corners (always a good move). Though I usually take a very dim view of speed-enforcement and LEOs, the sheer volume of idiots and 'too-fast-for-conditions' driving on the Dragon makes me think there just aren't enough of them on that little stretch of road. Great twisties, but the Dragon's definitely a victim of its own success.

 

If you can ever manage to find it without roadslugs or roadworks, Highway 1 on California's central coast is great fun. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...216492&t=h&z=9

On that view, it doesn't look much, but you should zoom in, its 65 miles of concentrated twisties clinging to the cliffside overlooking the ocean. I recommend you do it in an MCS because of the forementioned roadslugs.

 

I completely agree, its super popular and thus super busy. I find it fun to head out there for the road and seeing all ther other cars and people. There also seems to be quite a few more LEOs generally just reminding people not to be stupid, atleast there were 2 weeks ago when I was out there. Also, in reference to my earlier comment, Hwy 421 is very much like the Dragon but much less popular so it was virtually deserted on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Mainly because there is nothing out there like resorts and towns like near the Dragon. If you are looking for just a fun drive and nothing else, a trip to 421 may be a better idea.

 

I live in SoCal and one of my favorite drives is the 330/18 up to Big Bear. I've driven my Jeep this route numerous times in the winter when its covered in ice/snow (heading up to the ski mountains). Looking forward to getting my MCS ordered so I can really take advantage of those turns!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...22974&t=h&z=11

 

Hwy 378 or Crater Road is one of the fastest ascending roads in the world.
You go from 3200 ft to 10,023 ft in just 22 miles. That includes all 33 switchbacks! Very cool! (zoom out on that google map and you get a better idea of the terrain)
I think the airlines are now charging an extra $25 to check your MINI!

 

maybe you can put it in the overhead bin

 

This one in Scotland is supposed to be really interesting. We were just on the other side of the Loch last year, with an MCS, but couldn't manage to fit the drive into our itinerary.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl...10707&t=h&z=12

 

I miss twisties :(

I'm a huge fan of the Hellbender up by the dragon... was a good intro to my first batch of twisties