Motorcycle Ride Planner · Routes · United States
Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623)
United States · VA-61 / VA-623 / Burkes Garden Rd
A legendary ride into Virginia's highest and oldest agricultural valley, famously known as 'God's Thumbprint.' Enclosed entirely by Garden Mountain, Burkes Garden is an elevated bowl basin accessed only through a narrow mountain gap on VA-623. The road climbs steeply out of Tazewell over mountain gaps with tight 15 mph hairpins, then opens into an idyllic pastoral valley ringed by continuous mountain ridges. Part of the Claw of the Dragon regional touring network.
Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623) runs 35 miles between Tazewell, VA and Burkes Garden Valley Center, VA. We count about 175 corners along it, which is consistently bendy. Demanding, and not a road to meet in the wet.
Tank-bag quick reference
- StartTazewell, VA37.1265, -81.5187
- High2,200 ft - 3,340 ftelevation range
- EndBurkes Garden Valley Center, VA37.0984, -81.3398
T-CLOCS before you go: tyres and wheels, controls and cables, lights and electrics, oil and fluids, chassis and stand.
Repair within reach
- 26 miWytheville PowersportsWytheville, United States
Straight-line distance from the start of the route, not driving distance.
Somewhere to stop
- 0 miBack of the Dragon Welcome Center & Tazewell BreweryTazewell, VA
- 20 miThe General Francis Marion HotelMarion, VA
- 47 miShady Valley Country Store (The Snake 421)Shady Valley, TN
More in United States
- California Route 36 - '140 Miles of Curves'140 mi · 1800 corners
- Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia Ridge & Peaks of Otter)176 mi · 620 corners
- Blue Ridge Parkway (Southern High Peaks Section)129 mi · 580 corners
- The Snake 421 (Holston Mountain Pass)33 mi · 489 corners
- Coronado Trail (The Devil's Highway)92 mi · 460 corners
- Lolo Pass (Lewis and Clark Highway)132 mi · 450 corners
Questions riders ask
- How long does Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623) take to ride?
- About 35 miles. At an unhurried pace with stops that is roughly 1 hour of riding, longer if you are stopping for photographs.
- Where does Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623) start and end?
- It runs between Tazewell, VA and Burkes Garden Valley Center, VA. Either end works as a start; the route reads the same in both directions.
- Is Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623) a twisty road?
- We count about 175 corners across 35 miles, which is consistently bendy.
- Is there a GPX file for Burkes Garden Loop / The Claw of the Dragon (VA-61 / VA-623)?
- Yes. The GPX is free, there is no account, and the planner will build a route that includes this road alongside others nearby.
Where these numbers come from
Distances and corner counts come from the route's own geometry, not from ratings or votes. Nothing here is crowdsourced and nobody paid to appear.