Following the southern Blue Ridge Mountains as they fade into the taller and more massive Black Mountains, the parkway skirts three other mountain ranges before ending up at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee border.
Spring flowers including massive rhododendrons , fall colors, songbirds, wild turkeys, numerous waterfalls, and occasional eerie fogs that fill the valleys below all make this an unforgettable trip no matter what the time of year. Take your time and drive carefully, however hard it is to keep your eyes on the road. A couple of worthwhile detours—to the mountain hamlets of Blowing Rock and Little Switzerland, and to the city of Asheville—are covered in greater detail in the main text of Road Trip USA.
From north to south, here are the mile-by-mile highlights along the North Carolina portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway:. This section starts at the Virginia-North Carolina border. Mileposts Moses H. Cone Memorial Park is a 3,acre former private estate, with many miles of mountaintop hiking trails. At Mile , Southern Highlands Crafts Guild members demonstrate various Appalachian crafts throughout the summer at the Parkway Craft Center on the front porch of the former Cone mansion, which is now part of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild nonprofit.
Milespot See our Flat Rock Trail Guide. Or go south 5. Visitors Center and picnic area. See our Linville Falls Guide. Also see Duggers Creek Falls. Nearby is Linville Gorge. Linville Caverns is four miles south of the Parkway.
Elevation 4, ft. See our Chestoa View Guide. See our Orchard at Altapass Guide. Milepost , Museum of North Carolina Minerals Highway : See many local minerals and learn about regional geology and nice restroom stop!
Travel north on Highway for six miles to Spruce Pine. Milepost , Little Switzerland: Stop in this tiny village along the Parkway for food and a little shopping. See our Little Switzerland Guide. Adjacent to the Parkway is the hike to Grassy Creek Falls. Picnic area and campground. See our Guide to Crabtree Falls. This is the route to Mt.
Mitchell during the winter months, weather permitting. Part of the Mount Mitchell Scenic Byway. Hike through Alpine forests to Mt.
Craig or pick up some food at the restaurant and have a mile-high picnic. No admission fee. See our guide to Mount Mitchell State Park. See our Big Butt Trail Guide. During drier periods, the waterfall almost dries up. Elevation 5, feet. See our Glassmine Falls Guide. Enjoy the crisp air, summer rhododendron, and hiking trails.
Also a great place for stargazing. You can hike on the Mountains to Sea trail from the small parking area there. Browse the three fine art galleries, see daily craft demonstrations, and visit the Parkway information center.
Check Out:. Adults: 1 2 3 4. Check Rates. Check In:. Keyword Search Term:. Adults: 1 2 3 4 5. Infants: 0 1 2 3 4 5. Cookies are used for measurement, ads and optimization. By continuing to use our site you agree to our Cookies are used for measurement, ads and optimization.
By continuing to use our site you agree to our privacy policy. For Visitors About Asheville. Contact Us. Relocation Information. Privacy Policy. For Media Press Room. Meeting Planners. So, we plan to skip skyline dr and start from BRP instead. We will drive south to Cherokee NC with few overlook stops and a night stop somewhere to split the miles BRP journey into 2 days.
Upon arriving Cherokee we plan for a night stay in Smokey mountains and return via 81 highway back to Virginia on the 4th day 20th.
You can easily drive through Smoky Mtn NP in one day. And it makes total sense to skip Skyline drive if you have done it multiple times. Just note that the BRP gets very curvy and mountainous as you enter NC so you might want to drive that portion during the day.
I stayed in a beautiful cabin through Airbnb in Flyod, VA. Keeping my fingers crossed that fall colors start popping by the 17th weekend for you guys! Have a wonderful trip!! Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. An adventurous couple who did NOT quit their corporate jobs to travel the world. Our goal is to explore as much as we can in our short vacations and yes, we do go to great lengths to find unique experiences and great food to share with you all.
Learn more About Us. Affiliate advertising program is designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to our audience to affiliated sites where we prefer to partner. Our goal is to help bring better travel experiences for our readers and viewers. Driving on BRP covered with clouds. For majority of our drive this was the visibility situation.
Altapass Apple Orchard. Clear night skies on Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo of our cabin in Floyd, Virginia. About myticklefeet View all posts by myticklefeet ». This is one of my all time favorites as well. Thanks for sharing. Oh glad to hear that Emily! It was my first time driving the entire stretch and I loved it. I just saw where some comments were When I read it, the date at the top was When are the leaves in full color or have they already peaked in the higher elevations?
Thank you for this detailed guide! Cheers Marco. Any suggestion to better this plan would be appreciated.
0コメント