Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in Tennessee near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The tourist trap Pigeon Forge is at the western edge, and the Tail of the Dragon road is just southeast of it. It is a very nice park with good amenities.

I stopped at the visitor center where a helpful ranger noticed my motorcycle riding gear and asked if I was planning to ride the Tail of the Dragon.  He recommended I leave the park and instead ride the Foothills Parkway to highway 129 (TotD) because it was a better MC ride.

He was right!

Riding through the park was nice, surrounded by forest and meadows, but the Foothills Parkway was MUCH more scenic, rising up over Grandfather Mountain (the ranger’s description) with spectacular views of the national park.