Dragon

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Thanks for all the tips and tricks!
I'm going sometime in the next 3 weeks, but I'm taking a trailer to get near there....what is a good home base to ride the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway? I guess I'm asking what is a good hotel to leave a truck and trailer at during the day and has a hotel with or near restaurants? I'm sure there are plenty near Knoxville, but any closer? Is a weekday better than a weekend?

We stayed at Two Wheel Inn which is a few miles south of Tail of the Dragon on 129, but a very short distance to Cherohala. Being on the south end also gives you a shorter ride down to US74/19 which takes you to NC28 (aka Moonshiner 28). 74/19 is a nice ride along the river and 28 is beautiful. Two Wheel Inn will have parking for your truck and trailer and each room has its own bike garage (which is nice and saves you having to load and unload the trailer each day). Here's the website with their rates: [url=http://www.twowheelinn.com/our-rooms/]Two Wheel Inn - Rates. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I stayed at the Quality Inn in Alcoa, TN. It was a little bit of a hike to Deal's Gap, but not too bad. The room was clean and the staff were very accommodating. There was plenty of parking and the area was surprisingly quiet at night. There are three or four restaurants within walking distance. I went to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. [url=http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-alcoa-tennessee-TN663#listpos8]Quality Inn - Aloca

Weekday is HUGELY better. We were there on a Tuesday and Wednesday in early May and it was pretty quiet except for a few Minis arriving early for their rally. When I went back in late June, I was there on a Friday evening after a very strong rain and I was very surprised at how many other people were on The Dragon considering it was dusk and it had just poured. If you want to ride a bit and then stop and talk with ALOT of people, do it on the weekend. If you want to ride, and then ride some more, go on a weekday....Tuesday/Wednesday probably being the quietest. Oh..and bring layers on Cherohala..the weather changes in a snap up there.