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The Blue Ridge Parkway

The best of America's most famous scenic byway

  • 69
  • 26:58
  • 1,217 mi
  • $190
Take This Trip

Created by AliceKoch - October 26th 2018

The Blue Ridge Parkway isn't technically a National Park, but it might as well be. It connects two National Parks (Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains) together and the parkway itself is the most visited unit controlled by the National Parks System. Each year, more people drive along its roads than visit the Grand Canyon. True fact. People flock to it with good reason, though...it's pretty gorgeous. Plus, there's tons to see and do along the way. Here's a few highlights to see along the way.

1
29mi 00h 36m

Front Royal, VA, US

1

The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles of pure beauty. It all begins in Front Royal, Virginia, and runs all the way down to Cherokee, North Carolina.

2
2mi 00h 06m

Skyline Drive, Luray, VA, US

Skyline Drive

2

Whether you're starting or ending the trip in Shenandoah, the park's Skyline Drive is one of the most unforgettably epic parts of the trip.

3
4mi 00h 08m
Photo of Dickey Ridge Visitors Center
4.0

Skyline Dr., Front Royal, VA, US

Dickey Ridge Visitors Center

3

While you're in Front Royal, stop by the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center and head out on a hike across from the Parkway. You can visit Fox Hollow and Snead Farm, and you'll pass by an historic graveyard. It's a great way to immerse yourself in the local area's history.

4
9mi 00h 15m

Skyline Drive, Huntly, Virginia

4

Mile 22.1 Skyline Drive, Luray, VA, US

Mathews Arm Campground

5
28mi 00h 40m
Photo of Luray Caverns
4.5

101 Cave Hill Rd, Luray, VA, US

Luray Caverns

5

Take your Blue Ridge Parkway adventure underground at Luray Caverns. You can rock out to their one-of-a-kind stalacpipe organ, and make sure to toss some money into their wishing well and make a wish. You'll get instant good vibes once you find out that all the change tossed into the well goes to charity!

6
7mi 00h 09m
Photo of Shenandoah National Park
4.6

Shenandoah National Park, Luray, VA, US

Shenandoah National Park

6

75 miles outside Washington D.C., the pristine 200,000 miles of Shenandoah National Park wait to be explored! Shenandoah National Park offers 500 miles of trails within the park, plus dense forests, ancient caves, swooping mountains, misty waterfalls... need I go on?

7
17mi 00h 27m

White Oak Fire Road, Syria, Virginia

7
8
5mi 00h 08m
Photo of Big Meadows Campground
4.1

8215 Cedar Creek Rd, VA, US

Big Meadows Campground

8
9
3mi 00h 05m

Skyline Drive, Syria, Virginia

9
10
25mi 00h 40m
Photo of Loft Mountain Campground
4.0

Loft Mountain Road, Crozet, VA, US

Loft Mountain Campground

10
11
0mi 00h 03m

Loft Mountain Rd, Crozet, VA, US

Loft Mountain Campground, Shenandoah National Park

11
12
14mi 00h 27m

Appalachian Trail, Waynesboro, Virginia

12
Photo of Sherando Lake Family Recreation Area Campground
5.0

96 Sherando Lake Rd, Lyndhurst, VA, US

Sherando Lake Family Recreation Area Campground

13
37mi 00h 45m

1050 Monticello Lp, Charlottesville, VA, US

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

13
15
37mi 00h 38m

1290 Richmond Ave, Staunton, VA, US

Frontier Culture Museum

15
16
2mi 00h 05m

20 N Coalter St, Staunton, VA, US

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum

16
17
17mi 00h 29m

94 Natural Chimneys Lane, Mount Solon, VA, US

Natural Chimneys Regional Park

17

Honestly, you can't pick a bad time drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. In summer, the parks along the Blue Ridge Parkway are lush and green. In the fall, the entire drive is covered in fiery foliage (usually from early October to early November). In winter, the driving is a tad precarious, especially if it's a snowy winter. But, the Blue Ridge Mountains become blanketed in snow and it looks like a white wonderland. In spring, the flowers bloom across the route: the best to see them is between April and May.