Two states, one mountain range, and the highest concentration of good pavement east of the Rockies. If you have a weekend and a full tank, the roads that earn the trip are Virginia's Route 16 between Marion and Tazewell — the Back of the Dragon — plus US 33 across the Allegheny Front in West Virginia, WV 150 along the top of the Highland Scenic Highway, WV 72 through Tucker County, and US 219 as the north-south thread that ties them together. Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway are the famous ones, and we cover the Parkway in detail in our Blue Ridge Parkway motorcycle guide; this page is about the roads locals ride when they want corners instead of overlooks.
Why this corner of Appalachia works
The ridge-and-valley Appalachians run northeast to southwest in long parallel folds. Roads here have two choices: stay in the valleys, which is flat and dull, or cross the ridges, which means switchbacks and sustained climbs. The good motorcycle roads are all the second kind. West Virginia gets an extra advantage from the Monongahela National Forest, where large blocks of land have no development and almost no commercial traffic, so a road can stay two lanes wide for fifty miles without anyone widening it.
The trade is services. Some of these routes cross thirty or forty miles with nothing but a church and a hay barn, and that is the whole planning problem in this region.
Top roads in Virginia and West Virginia
| Road | Length | What it is | End to end |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA 16, Back of the Dragon | 32 miles | Over 400 curves crossing Big Walker, Brushy and Clinch Mountains; the region's headline road | Marion to Tazewell, Virginia |
| US 33 in West Virginia | 248 miles statewide | The eastern 60 miles cross the Eastern Continental Divide, drop the Allegheny Front and climb North Fork Mountain | Elkins east to the Virginia line |
| WV 150, Highland Scenic Highway | 22.5 miles | Ridge-top parkway to 4,545 feet, no commercial traffic, 45 mph, unplowed in winter | WV 39/55 near Mill Point to US 219 near Marlinton |
| WV 72 | 55.7 miles | Single-lane pavement at the south end with gravel shoulders and trucks banned; river-following the rest of the way | WV 32 near Red Creek to WV 7 near Rowlesburg |
| US 219 | 196 miles in WV | The connector — Greenbrier Valley to Tucker County, and the road every loop here hangs off | Peterstown north to the Maryland line |
Open the Back of the Dragon in Google Maps — Marion to Tazewell on VA 16, ready to send to your navigation before you leave.
VA 16, the Back of the Dragon
Thirty-two miles between Marion and Tazewell, and the only road on this list that has a founder. Larry Brent Davidson, a Tazewell resident who spent his military career riding mountain roads in Bavaria and Austria, came home, looked at Route 16, and decided it deserved a name. He noticed that VA 16 runs north to south while Big Walker, Brushy and Clinch Mountains run east to west, so the road climbs and drops three separate humps — like the spine of a dragon. He printed twelve t-shirts, sold out, and eventually got the name into state law.
The riding lives up to the marketing. The road organization counts over 400 curves in those 32 miles, and unlike the region's better-known roads there is real elevation change between them: you climb a mountain, run a ridge, drop into a valley, and start again. Three times. The northern descent into Tazewell is the section riders replay in their heads afterward.
Worth saying plainly since the names confuse people: this is not the Tail of the Dragon. That is US 129 on the Tennessee–North Carolina line, and we cover it separately in the Tail of the Dragon guide. The Back of the Dragon is four times longer, far less crowded, and has actual views. It also runs through open range country where cattle, deer and gravel driveways are constant, and the pavement quality varies by county.
US 33 across the Allegheny Front
US 33 crosses all of West Virginia — 248 miles of it — but the part that matters starts around Elkins and runs east. Between Harman and Onego the road crosses the Eastern Continental Divide at about 3,240 feet, then descends the Allegheny Front, the abrupt eastern wall of the plateau. The drop is long, steady and heavily cambered, with Spruce Knob and Spruce Mountain filling the mirrors.
At Seneca Rocks the road joins WV 28 and follows the Potomac headwaters south through farmland. Then at Judy Gap it turns east and climbs North Fork Mountain to about 3,600 feet. There is a turnout on the western slope with the best free view in the state: Germany Valley below, the Allegheny Front behind it, Spruce Knob at one end and Dolly Sods at the other. Past Franklin the road climbs steeply again to cross Shenandoah Mountain into Virginia.
This is a US route, so it carries trucks, and the Allegheny Front descent is where they use engine brakes and take the whole lane. Sitting where a truck driver cannot see you is the avoidable half of that, and our guide to vehicle blind spots covers the positions to stay out of. The eastern climbs are also exposed — weather at Judy Gap can be twenty degrees different from Elkins.
WV 150, the Highland Scenic Highway
The parkway section of the Highland Scenic Highway is only 22.5 miles, from WV 39/55 near Mill Point north to US 219 near Marlinton, and it is the most deliberate road in this guide. Dedicated in 1980, it was purpose-built as a scenic route, following mountain ridges that reach 4,545 feet. Commercial traffic is banned outright and the speed limit is 45 mph the whole way.
What you get for that 45 mph is a road with almost nobody on it, overlooks of the Cranberry Glades and Cranberry Wilderness to the west and the ridge-and-valley country to the east, and pavement that stays smooth because trucks never touch it. It is a road to cruise rather than attack, and the elevation keeps it well below the forecast for the valley towns.
The catch is winter. WV 150 is not maintained in the winter months. Access is not physically blocked, which means it is entirely possible to ride onto an unplowed, unsalted ridge road at 4,500 feet in late October and have a very bad afternoon. Treat mid-November through April as closed regardless of what the gate says.
WV 72 and the Tucker County roads
WV 72 runs 55.7 miles from WV 32 southeast of Red Creek north to WV 7 in the Rowlesburg area, and its reputation comes from the southern end. Between Dryfork and the WV 32 junction, WV 72 is a single paved lane with narrow gravel shoulders, and trucks are prohibited by posted sign. That is not a euphemism for narrow — it is one lane of pavement with oncoming traffic, so you ride it expecting to give ground.
North of there it opens up and follows the Cheat River drainage through Parsons and toward Rowlesburg. Pair it with WV 32 through Canaan Valley and you have the best day in the northern half of the state. Fuel is in Parsons, Davis or Thomas, and there is not much between them.
US 219, the connector
US 219 is not a destination road, it is the spine. It runs 196 miles through West Virginia, entering at Peterstown and heading northeast through Ronceverte and Lewisburg, then north through Hillsboro and Marlinton, on through Montrose, and into Tucker County via Parsons and Thomas. Everything else in this guide connects to it — WV 150 at the north end of the parkway, the US 33 corridor at Elkins, the WV 72 country in Tucker County. It is also where the services are: Lewisburg, Marlinton and Elkins are the towns worth planning fuel, food and beds around, and they all sit on 219.
Fuel, weather and the things that ruin a day here
Fuel. This is the single biggest planning issue. On WV 150 there is nothing at all for the full 22.5 miles, and the roads feeding it are not much better. Between Judy Gap and Franklin on US 33, or on the southern lane-and-a-half of WV 72, assume nothing is open. Fill at Marlinton, Elkins, Lewisburg, Marion, Tazewell, Davis or Franklin, and fill when you see them rather than when you need them. Sunday hours in small West Virginia towns are short.
Elevation and cold. WV 150 tops out at 4,545 feet and US 33 crosses two ridges above 3,200 feet. Fog on the Allegheny Front is common on summer mornings, and shaded north-facing pavement holds moisture long after the valleys dry.
Season. May through October is the reliable window. Fall color peaks in the high country in the first two weeks of October, which is also when traffic peaks.
Wildlife. Deer everywhere at dawn and dusk. On VA 16 and the rural WV routes you also get cattle, and farm gates that open onto blind corners.
Enforcement. WV 150 is signed 45 mph and enforced as a park road. The small towns on US 219 and VA 16 drop from 55 to 35 quickly, and that is where tickets happen.
Gear notes for two-state mountain days
The problem here is not distance, it is that you lose signal for hours at a time and the temperature swings 25 degrees between a river valley and a 4,500-foot ridge. Downloading the map region before you leave and running it on a handlebar riding system display means a dead cell tower in Pocahontas County does not turn into a guessing game at an unmarked junction. Cold pavement is the second issue: rubber that was fine leaving Lewisburg is meaningfully colder on the WV 150 ridge, and pressure drops with it. We break down what cold pavement does to your PSI and how far the numbers actually move, and a valve-cap TPMS sensor shows it live instead of leaving you to guess at the next open pump forty miles later. The JADO S6 puts navigation and tire data on one screen and keeps front and rear cameras running, which is worth having on single-lane pavement where an oncoming truck arrives with no warning.
FAQ
What is the best motorcycle road in Virginia or West Virginia?
VA 16 between Marion and Tazewell, the Back of the Dragon, is the one riders name first — 32 miles and over 400 curves across three separate mountains. If you prefer scenery over corner count, WV 150 on the Highland Scenic Highway is the better ride.
Is the Back of the Dragon the same as the Tail of the Dragon?
No. The Tail of the Dragon is US 129 on the Tennessee–North Carolina border. The Back of the Dragon is VA 16 in southwest Virginia, about four times longer, with far more elevation change and far less traffic.
When is the Highland Scenic Highway open?
WV 150 is not maintained during the winter months, though access is not physically prevented. Plan on May through October and treat anything outside that as a road you should not be on at 4,500 feet.
How much fuel range do I need out here?
Enough to cover 60 miles comfortably with reserve. The gaps between open stations on WV 150, southern WV 72 and the US 33 stretch east of Judy Gap are the reason, and Sunday hours make it worse.
Where should I base a weekend?
Marlinton or Lewisburg for the West Virginia roads — both sit on US 219 with WV 150, US 33 and the Cheat country within a day's reach. Marion or Tazewell if the Back of the Dragon is the priority, since the road runs between them.
