Information Center

Welcome to the Home of the Dragon, at the Deal’s Gap Store. The store has been an oasis in the mountains since the early forties. Through time, it has been home to a small café, gas station, motel, bait and tackle, hunting supplies and the original home of the Deal’s Gap Riding Society.

Times have changed though, and now we offer two ways to shop for the only original and official world famous Dragon shirts, memorabilia and collectibles.

Presently, the Deal’s Gap Store is the base of operations for the Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort. Open 7 days a week throughout the riding season, we are home to all the original Dragon memorabilia from 14 different styles of t-shirts, maps, DVD’s and all the famous dragon stickers, which show your friends that you have successfull navigated through the Dragon. We also offer snacks, drinks and all the things you have forgotten to pack for your trip here.

You can stay where all the action starts at our Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort. We offer a motel and camping facilities, plus a restaurant and store, right on the Dragon—everything the Dragon Slayer needs for a great stay. Need directions?…They can be found on the Driving Directions page.

Standard Rooms

Rooms 3-14

Rooms include: Small refrigerators, microwaves, small coffee pots and satellite TV.

Rooms also include all your linens, towels, pillows, shampoo and soap.

All rooms have heat and A/C.

Maid Service provided daily.

Standard rooms all have one Queen size bed, as well as one bunk bed.

Standard Room Photos.

Pricing for Standard Rooms

Number of People	Per Night Fee
1-2	$64.00 + Tax
3	$74.00 + Tax
4	$84.00 + Tax

*MAX OF 4 (Four) GUESTS PER ROOM

Apartment Rooms

Rooms1-2

Rooms include: Small kitchen, refrigerators, microwaves, small coffee pots and satellite TV.

Rooms also include all your linens, towels, pillows, shampoo and soap.

All rooms have heat and A/C.

Maid Service provided daily.

Apartments have two sets of bunk bed, one full-size futon and one Queen bed.

Apartment Room Photos.

Pricing for Apartment Rooms

Number of People	Per Night Fee
1-2	$84.00 + Tax
3	$94.00 + Tax
4	$104.00 + Tax
5	$114.00 + Tax
6	$124.00 + Tax

*MAX OF 6 (Six) GUESTS PER ROOM

Reservation Policy:

We only accept reservations over the phone. No emails or phone messages are accepted. 800-889-5550 ( US and Canada only) 828-498-2231 (Outside US).

DUE TO THE NUMBER OF GROUPS BOOKING THE ENTIRE HOTEL, HOLDING THE ROOMS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, AND THEN CANCELLING A NUMBER OF ROOMS AT THE LAST MINUTE, DEALS GAP MOTORCYCLE RESORT HAS CHANGED IT’S POLICY:

GROUPS

Please contact info@dealsgap.com or call the resort for reservations.

Seven (7) or more rooms booked under one person and/or group must pay 50%(non-refundable) deposit of total stay, 30 days in advance prior to arrival date. Rooms MUST be paid in full on the day of reservation arrival.

RESERVATIONS CANCELLATION POLICY

The cancellation policy requires a 48 hr notice for cancellations. If you fail to cancel your reservation before the 48 hr notice or turn out to be a “no-show”, then the initial charge is kept and all other days reserved will be cancelled to allow filling of the rooms.

Other Terms

— NO PETS ALLOWED !!!! — Check In Time is 3:00 PM. — Check Out Time is 11:00 AM*. ( *No late Checkout allowed due to constant motel turnaround. ) — No Guest Laundry facilities on property — Bag of Ice provided each night of reservation. — Outside charcoal grills located across from room. (** **Charcoal not available on property. ) — Bike Cleaning Rags & Service Bay available to guests.

GROUP EVENTS: Please contact Banquets/Grill Manager Mona either by phone 800-889-5550 or by email at mona@dealsgapcom for availability & pricing. FOOD VENDORS: If you are a food vendor interested in participating in any of our events, please contact mona@dealsgap.com for pricing & openings.

In 2004, the addition of the Dragon’s Den Grill was added to the resort. Allowing 65 guests to sit, relax, and have a great meal. Four years later, the addition of the Pub was installed, so one can enjoy a cold beer with their meal if desired. Three TV’s set on weather, news, & SPEED Networks are positioned around the Grill & Pub to keep you updated on current conditions & race day shouting at the tv. Air conditioned for our hot summer days & heated for our cooler early spring and late fall travelers. We offer 6 speciality burgers (don’t worry regulars, you can still have our original Dragon burger too!), a daily deli, homemade desserts, & much more. We also offer window bar seating overlooking the parking lot and Wheelie hill, which are the best seats in the grill!! Come check it out!!

We serve breakfast starting at 8AM every morning, considered by many to be the best there is in the area. Lunch Starts by 11AM, serving our famous dragon burger, chicken, BBQ, sandwiches, and many more items available on the menu, along with daily specials.

Groups can stop by and have the Dragon Den’s staff provide a special luncheon (BBQ platters, bagged lunches, & several other options), or we can host a more private event dinner with endless amount of theme ideas and goodies!

**We are no longer accepting tshirts to be displayed in the Grill & Pub. However, we will accept patches from your group/oraganzation to display!!

Everyone should take a minute to see the “Tree of Shame.” Started some time in the 80’s by a group of Harley riders, it is a makeshift shrine to those bitten by the Dragon. After riders have successfully slayed the Dragon, they can smile at the parts left behind by other riders who were not so fortunate.

While we don’t recommend adding parts to the Tree of Shame, it does happen a few times too many each season. We ask that each part is signed, dated, and turned into the store’s front counter for proper placement on the tree.

Usually we respect each rider’s contribution to the tree, but the Honda 750 gas tank at left was just too beautiful to leave to rust under the tree – an ashtray was a much better fate.

People from all walks of life are drawn to the seducing curves of the Dragon at Deal’s Gap, also known as US Hwy 129. They make their pilgrimage to test their skills, or in some cases, to be bitten by the Dragon.

The area surrounding the Dragon was one of the last areas of North Carolina to be settled due to its inhospitable terrain. The southern Appalachian Mountains are made up of two separate ranges; the eastern range is the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the western range is known as the Great Smoky Mountains. For thirty-six miles along the TN/NC border the GSM are more than 5k feet in altitude with 16 peaks stretching to more than 6k feet. All of this altitude translates to treacherous travel, especially for the pioneers in their day, but also for us as motor-sport enthusiasts today.

Written Cherokee history of the area begins in 1540, but it wasn’t until the18th century that settlers began to venture into the mountains of western North Carolina in more measurable numbers. The early 1700s saw a few adventurous trappers and hunters making their way into the area, and the ensuing battles between these settlers and the natives eventually led to the Trail of Tears. After the natives had been relocated and their land became available, more settlers took the chance of seeking out an existence on the rocky tops of the Appalachians. Part of the Dragon was cleared into a rudimentary road to the Cades Cove Settlement following Parsons Branch in the early 1800s. During the late 1800s, there was a greater influx of settlers, and Graham County was carved out of Cherokee County in 1872.

In 1910, the Aluminum Company of America began the arduous task of surveying the land in Blount and Graham counties for the integrated development of the water resources the Little Tennessee River had to offer. On the NC side of the mountains in 1916, construction on the Cheoah Dam and powerhouse began. It was then taken over in 1919 by the Tallassee Power Company and in turn by its successor in 1955, Tapoco, Inc. The latter company was derived from the first two letters of each word of the former companies. With the birth of the public works that the new dams and their power brought to the area, construction of new roads and highways began in earnest. It was not until 1931; however, that Tapoco could be reached from TN by auto via the present day US 129 crossing into North Carolina at Deals Gap. Until that point, the choices were train or rail bus; and during the final stages of construction, the only access was by boat.

US 129 is an interesting road, even to those that do not ride motorcycles. It closely follows an old Indian trail that wound through Graham County before climbing the Smoky Range and crossing into TN at Deals Gap, where it continues along the ridges before emerging at Calderwood, and finally on to Fort Loudon. The opening of US 129 brought the benefits of tourist trade, which increased yearly with the public’s discovery of the natural beauty that lay nestled in those mountains so difficult to reach previously. Much of this area is still devoted to national parks, such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Nantahala National Forest, and the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.