This is one of the rides we did on a recent multiday trip to the Smoky Mountains. We left from Townsend TN (where we happened to be staying that night) and it was a two hour ride to get to The Rattler. Even once you're on 209, it's still some riding to get to the beginning of the actual Rattler ride.
A couple bonus items before we get to The Rattler. First, we came upon this Sheriff in Georgia on what looked like a brand new really badass motorcycle. I also included what Tail of the Dragon Harley Davidson looks like as you ride up on it from Tail of the Dragon. And lastly, I included some of the Blue Ridge Parkway riding from later in the day. It rained for weeks before we came up on this trip, so everything was extremely lush and breathtaking.
As with most of my videos that are posted to show you these rides, the camera remained rolling for the entire Rattler. Occasionally I piped in with my Sena helmet camera and show the GoPro video sidebyside with the Sena (with the route placement all synced up).
Enjoy!