Travel between Bryson City, NC and Santeetlah, NC

If you go over Fontana Lake and through Stecoah you will have to deal with some curves. It really isn't that bad though. Going up the mountain between Fontana and Santeelah/Robbinsville you will find that it is a slow haul. After that you will have no problems. You may also want to check out the Nantahala Gorge while you are in the area.

EDM3rd - I stand corrected. I knew "Dragon" didn't sound right, but I never remember the other part. I've driven it twice in a Tahoe and in something like that it isn't even fun.

BILLYANDKRISS your summary is correct. Instead of getting off 74 at Almond, you would continue on 74, thru Nantahala Gorge, to Topton where you would turn right on 129. Topton is at the very top of the climb out of the Gorge - steep but only 2-3 miles long.

Past Robinsville 129 is actually OK until you get to Topoco - it just has the typical ups and downs and a fair amount of curves but I wouldn't hesitate to pull out TT down that road as far as Fontana - actually looking for an excuse to camp there below the dam.

74 from Almond to Topton goes by a stream famous for white water sports, even hosted national competitions. If the weather is descent at all, there will be much congestion thru there on the weekends even in the fall, just take it easy and stay alert and the congested part is only 2-3 miles long.

129 from Robinsville to Santeela is not very well marked in my humble opinion. Seems like there are a lot of secondary roads intersecting at odd angles and sometimes hard to decide where 129 is. Be sure you have good directions and landmarks before you make that last leg, and Robinsville is the last place for a real grocery store and Top Tier gas.

Your return trip is exactly what we do. We live about 20 miles west of Huntsville, AL and camp at Bryson City (really Whittier) twice a year. My return trip is 74 to Cleveland TN, then the interstate to Chattanooga, then get off on US72 at South Pittsburg and go thru Huntsville. 74 is a very good 2 lane road and you can make decent time while enjoying the trip. Between Murphy and Cleveland you will go thru about 15 miles of an area called Ocoee - another Olympic white water creek. There is a 1-2 mile very steep descent as you enter that run from Copper Hill and there are a few tight turns on this run, including one 90 degree blind curve that is famous for truckers to snag each others' mirrors (saw it happen once). It is marked well and they have paved a lot of the shoulder on both sides so you can cheat the curve and be fine. Again, just take your time and enjoy that view as well.

Plan your trip so you are not on the interstates in Chattanooga between 4 and 6PM on weekdays.

There aren't any tunnels on any of these routes, and I don't "remember" any problematic underpasses. We pull our 12.5 foot high TT down 74 many times, but have never pulled it up 129 but that area just isn't congested enough to have overpasses. There is one RR bridge but it must be 100' high between peaks. THERE ARE two tunnels if you pull across Newfound Gap - I would sure check with the Park Service on those two.

Enjoy! Hopefully we will be up there in the fall as well.

There aren't any tunnels or underpasses on this route is there? These FW's are so tall.

Tundra Tower: I see the route you mention. We would take 74 to just before Almond and then STAY on 74/19 going SW down to Topton and then go NW on 129 correct? I found out today (before I read this) from some friends who just left out there not to take 129 north when we leave. They were pulling a pop-up and said it was terrible. We are going to Cheoah Point CG on Santeetlah Lake and from there will drive in the truck up to Fontana Village area. We plan to hike at Twentymile. We will be heading back to N. AR when we leave so was thinking we would go back south to Topton and take 129 to 19/74 to Murphy and then head towards Chattanooga. I called the USFS office and they said we would not be going but about 5 miles north on 129 from Robbinsville to the campground. Let me know what you think pleez and THANK YOU.

May have better luck searching for "tail of the dragon" for Hwy 129 - extremely popular not only with motorcycles but sports cars. 318 curves in 11 miles. Fun drive in small vehicles ONLY.

My dad was born at Fontana and my grandparents are from Bryson city so I've spent a lot of time in that area.

Not sure where you are going at Santeelah, but based on the 19s-28-43-129 route I will assume Robinsville.

You can take your rig on that route but I do not think it is ideal. There are curves and ups and downs, but nothing out of the ordinary for the Smokeys. As
you leave Bryson City, 19/64 is a relatively new 4 lane. On the route you describe, you would be getting off 19/74 where 19/74 goes to a 2 lane. HOWEVER, if you stay on 19/64 and continue thru Nantahala Gorge (a beautiful drive in itself in the fall), then when you come out of the Gorge at Topton you can turn right onto the same 129 you were headed for. I believe this would be easier and perhaps more scenic. At the very least it is shorter and less tedious.

The caveat is that you CAN NOT take your rig on Highway 129 north into Tennessee past Topoco. That starts a stretch of that road known to motorcyclists as "the Dragon", and people ship their motorcycles here from literally all over the world to make that 10 mile run. You can google The Dragon and see disaster pictures of 18 wheelers that tried to go thru that route.

You CAN make a large loop via 28 and 129 as they connect at Fontana without going on the Dragon. There is a small campground at Fontana Dam, along with a 14% grade that is about a mile long between the village and the campground. This would be a pretty drive with your tow vehicle solo. Fontana Resort/lake/dam is spectacular in the fall.

As to Newfound Gap, I've made that trip dozens of times but never with our trailer. The NC side has probably 15 miles of 7-8% steady grade. However, my reluctance is around not knowing the park rules on campers. Years ago 18 wheelers could only travel that route at night and today they are banned all together. My only suggestion would be to confirm with the park service that RV's are allowed and if there are size restrictions.

Think you might be better going Hwy 74 and Hwy 129. You DO NOT want to take 129 into Tennessee. I have not towed these roads but have traveled some of them.