Actually, the “Tail of the Dragon” is in Tennesee. The southern end of the Dragon is on the N Carolina/Tennesee border. The Dragon is north of this line. Deals Gap (the infamous meeting place/resort for the Dragon) is in N Carolina, and is about 1.5 miles from the Dragon.
The Dragon is best during the week, because so many people want to ride/drive it, they usually make a weekend trip out of it. I rode my bike there last year, and rode the Dragon on a Wednesday & Thursday with very little traffic.
On the way home, we found some similar roads the rival the Dragon. One I can remember is Rte 16 in Virginia (between Marion & Tazewell). It was about 25 miles of up/down elevation, hairpin turns, 90 degree turns, straightaways, etc. Rte 16 had no traffic.
Also, we found rte 221 out of Blowing Rock, NC, before we even rode the Dragon. It is about an hour east of Deals Gap. We found it while trying to get off the Blue Ridge Pkwy (because we were getting bored with the slower speed of the BRP). Rte 221 was alot of fun for about an hour or two. You basically ride along the side of a mountain for 15-20 miles, and then descend to the bottom of the mountain thru twists and turns. At the end, there is a straightaway that is about 2 miles long for some nice 140-150 mph speed, after all the 15-55 mph coming down the mountain.
Don’t get me wrong, The Tail of the Dragon is a great place, but it is a product of it’s own success. It’s overcrowded, and possibly becoming unsafe for what we want to do with it.