Back of the Dragon: Marion to Tazewell
32 miles of Virginia Route 16 between Marion and Tazewell, Virginia, crossing Clinch Mountain with more than 400 curves — Virginia's officially designated motorcycle route, and the Dragon's sister road in the Southern Appalachians touge circuit.
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Check current Virginia road conditions before a trip; mountain sections can ice over in winter. Check current access ↗ · Reviewed 2026-09-16
Planning the drive
Back of the Dragon runs 32.7 miles from Marion to Tazewell with 156 counted bends and 36 switchbacks, crossing Clinch Mountain in the process — a longer, more sustained climb than the Dragon itself, with more total elevation change (8,413 ft of cumulative climb) even though its single steepest grade (8.2%) is milder. Speed limits swing from 25 mph through the two town centers to 55 mph on the open mountain sections, so the character changes more than on a road that's rural the whole way. Back of the Dragon: the official route site ↗
This is Virginia's only officially designated motorcycle route, and it draws the same enthusiast community as the Dragon further south — the two roads are commonly driven as a pair by people touring the Appalachian touge circuit. Mountain sections ice over in winter; check current Virginia road conditions before relying on it being clear.
Roads to connect
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 32.7 mi
- Bends
- 156
- Switchbacks
- 36
- Bends per mile
- 4.8
- Turning per mile
- 546°
- Curviest rank
- 56of 141
Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.
Elevation
- Total climb
- 8,413ft
- Climb per mile
- 257ft
- Highest point
- 3,450ft
- Steepest grade
- 8.2%
Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.
Speed limits
Varies
Unverified
Check posted signs along the road.
OpenStreetMap tags this route between 25 and 55 mph depending on the section (town centers vs. open highway), but this project does not treat OSM tags alone as a verified source. Follow posted signs.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 3/3 (Demanding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Technical” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- Back of the Dragon: the official route site ↗
- Wikipedia: Virginia State Route 16 ↗
- OpenStreetMap road data ↗ (29 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-16. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.