Question: Tail of the Dragon in December

Kinja'd!!! by "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
Published 12/19/2017 at 19:47

Tags: Oppositelock
STARS: 0


Kinja'd!!!

I have the opportunity to drive on the legendary road in the Christmas week.

Should I? Google tells me that the weather can be finicky, so does the fan site. Weather forecast says no snow towards the tail end of the week.

Has anyone been there during Christmas or does anyone live nearby who could tell me how the weather works there?


Replies (12)

Kinja'd!!! "Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
12/19/2017 at 20:00, STARS: 4

I’ve been there a couple times during Christmas and the odds are in your favor. While the 5,000’+ peaks will have snow most of the winter, you should be in good shape — just watch for black ice, the route is pretty shady.

Kinja'd!!! "daender" (daender)
12/19/2017 at 20:03, STARS: 1

They will close some of the roads if the snowfall is too much for the local DOT to handle. Just keep a heads-up for that.

Kinja'd!!! "E92M3" (E46M3)
12/19/2017 at 20:18, STARS: 1

Be careful, even if the road is dry it may still have sand and/or pea gravel from previous snowfall. Definitely scout the road first before you go crazy.

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/19/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 0

Will do thanks!

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/19/2017 at 21:34, STARS: 0

Yup, I always scout the road first

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/19/2017 at 21:34, STARS: 0

Good to know!

Kinja'd!!! "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
12/19/2017 at 21:58, STARS: 2

Well for one thing, it will definitely not be crowded! Just be cognizant of the weather. Weather in Robbinsville (down past the base in NC) may be WAY different than up on the dragon as well. So make sure you take it easy up there if you do venture out. But you could also get lucky and score a nice 60 degree december day and have it as a playground to yourself. Its worth it if its not too much of a detour. ESPECIALLY if you havent been before, its just a cool place.

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Found a video from like a week ago. There’d definitely snow up there but who knows how it is right now. I know the guy who runs killboy (the photo operation and gift shop there) has some cool snow run videos somewhere.

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This guy is nuts lol

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Kinja'd!!! "LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
12/20/2017 at 07:16, STARS: 1

I was driving on roads near Cashiers, NC, and the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday and there was 2 inch thick ice in the shaded corners, which curbed my enthusiasm a good bit. There is the chance that you’ll experience that on the dragon, but you should give it a try and hope for the best (with scouting the route, as mentioned).

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/20/2017 at 09:35, STARS: 0

Thanks for all the info!

I’ll look out for more vids on YT.

Still undecided if I should put snow tires on or not. Just have them sitting in my room

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/20/2017 at 09:36, STARS: 0

This makes me want to put Blizzaks on my car, not the all seasons that I’m running now

Kinja'd!!! "LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly)
12/20/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0

Putting Blizzaks on would ruin the experience, it seems to me. Better to use all-seasons and just slow down for the corners that have ice, if any.

Kinja'd!!! "ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
12/20/2017 at 09:57, STARS: 1

Yeah. I have the option to be safe and have a dull experience or be cautious and have fun.

I’m going to SC anyways, I’ll decide on the weekend regarding the tires