The Smoky Mountain Loop includes five of the top touring roads in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. From Townsend, A short jog will get you on the Foothills Parkway, 33 miles of touring fun along the ridge line with overlooks with views of the Smokies. Then comes the best, the Tail of the Dragon with 318 curves in 11 miles of twisting mountain pavement. Then we travel down Moonshiner 28 to see Fontana Dam and US 19 to Bryson city for lunch. Then continue 10 miles to Cherokee. US 441, a 38 mile route from Cherokee to Gatlinburg, climbs to over 5,000 feet elevation at New Found Gap before plunging to 1,500 feet at Sugarland's Visitor Center offering unmatched mountain views and fabulous touring. From here TN 73 AKA Little River Road winds 33 miles westward through scenic rock overhangs along the Little River and back to Townsend. This is a 5 hour trip if you drive straight through. there are plenty of fuel and rest stops along the way.
And there are scenic stops all along this "full-day", 143-mile adventure loop.
