Dragon News

** US129 PAVING UPDATE **

A start date has been established for the repaving of the 11 miles section of US129 known as Tail of the Draon. The goal is to start paving the first week of May, but could be pushed out a week or so.

The plan is to to pave and perform necessary lane closures during daylight hours MONDAY thru THURSDAYS.

Paving will begin in the southbound direction and finished at the TN/NC state line The paving must be completed within 35 calendar days of the start date. So ideally the paving will be complete sometime in mid to late June.

Starting the week of April 22, TDOT will begin installing construction signs and some guardrail replacement. 

Please check here and our social media for updates, we will post when construction begins.

We have closed our T-shirt Shack for the 2023 season, but you can still get Tail of the Dragon gear in our on-line store. Check-out our Big Holiday Discounts.

The Tail of the Dragon Highway (US129) remains open through the winter months, but check the weather before heading this way. There are still good riding/driving days even in the winter months.

Our T-shirt Shack will reopen in early March weather permitting.

There are plans to repave the Tail of the Dragon this summer. Specific details will not be availble until after the contract is let in March. The disruption to traffic has been minimal in past repavings. Only short sections of the road will be one lane as the work progresses. We will be posing more when TDOT updates their plans after March.

The most recent paving took place in June 2002. It was during the week of Honda Hoot in Knoxville and caused very little if any problems at the Tail. 

1940s Bridal Veil Falls on Moonshiner 28. Note car is driving under the falls. This was before they rerouted the pavement. These were the days when they never shut down a highway because of winter conditions.

What a great year at the Tail of the Dragon ….. so far. It’s not over yet though. Our Tail of the Dragon T-Shirt Shack remains open through Sunday November 26 and is offering some last minute discounts. Weather looks good for the next week.

Wow, what a year so far. Just a lot of good stuff going on. Bring it and see what’s happening.

A special day to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. Please honor them and have a safe holiday.

Great opening weekend after severe weather on Friday knocked-out our power. The days continue to be warm for this time of year. You can get good weather updates here https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/nc/robbinsville/35.32,-83.80

We will have a few nice days here in the coming weekend, then the rain returns. We are looking at opening the Tail of the Dragon T-shirt Shack in early March with decent weather. Accommodation reservations are starting to fill in so make your plans for this season early.

We hope that you all had a great Christmas and survived the “bomb cyclone”.

Here at the Dragon we saw just a dusting, but the temperature hit 0 one night at the lower elevations and -10 or even lower on the Cherohala Skyway. It will be warming nicely from the 27th to end the year with high temps in the mid to high 50s. The new year prediction looks even warmer with highs in the 60s but there is a possibility of rain on the 3rd and 4th.

We are looking forward to opening our Tail of the Dragon T-shirt Shack March 3rd weather permitting. Hope to see you at the Big Metal Dragon sometime in 2023.

Nearly halfway through September already. This summer is passing fast. You still have plenty of time to plan a trip to the Tail and other area roads before winter sets in. High temps are still in the 80s and brisk mornings in the fifties are a treat. The next 10 days look like perfection. Pack your bags and lets do it.

July and many visitors have arrived at the Tail. We are now in the typical summer afternoon shower mode. Watch the weather and plan to take a break when the widely scattered rains move in for 30 minutes in the mid afternoon. When the weather stations call for 50% chance of rain, which is just about every day, you can be sure that the rain is wide spread and spotty. It usually clears with the sun back out late afternoon.  Traffic is picking-up on area roads so be courteous to others on the road.