Tail of the Dragon from Raleigh / Durham area?

[low drag]

Hello,
Does anyone have a good route to get me from the Durham NC area to the Tail of the Dragon. Clearly I can ride the interstates but would prefer the scenic route.
I plan to do a Thursday - Sunday trip in early May. I'll hit the Dragon for a day then explore some of the other rides in the area.

 

[Lautarooo]

I havent been there in ages.. I dont remember a specific road but my technique when touring is the following which always helps me improvise. If you have an Iphone go to maps, choose a destination you want to reach, scroll down and choose “avoid highways”. This will give you the slower local roads which usually are scenic and curvy. I also check the satellite filter to see what kind of lanscape is there to avoid urban or corporate areas. Its often surprising how gorgeous landscapes are often a stones throw from ugly developed trafficy sections. This works really well for me. I am assuming other apps besides Iphone have similar features. Have a great ride, that area is gorgeous.

 

[Sierra1]

I just look for the skinniest, crookedest line on the map. . . . remember those? I do the same thing on Google Earth too though.

 

[BaldKnob]

You could take North Carolina’s original highway... US64 but it meanders north, south, north then south again and isn’t particularly scenic until you get close to Lake Lure. I would get on I40 W, blast out the first 2 1/2hrs and get on 64 at Morganton. Travel west until Franklin then follow signs for NC28 North. This road takes you to the Crossroads of Time 129 and 28. Enjoy!

 

[regder]

The Snake 421 is a great road that isn't a huge detour, highly recommend it.

If you have time, dipping south into Georgia on highway 60, and the roads around Blood Mountain, is absolutely amazing