Must Drive: The Blue Ridge Parkway connects 2 national parks

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.

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.

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?

If you're feeling lucky, stop by Sugar Creek Gem Mine and prospect for precious stones. They'll help you identify anything of value and even set it in jewelry for you!

Next, you'll arrive in Asheville, NC. This is a fantastic stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here's you'll find plenty of historic and bed and breakfasts and cozy campsites where you can rest your head, and there's tons of good eating, from old-school diners to places serving up the next great food trend. Asheville is the perfect place to stop and do a little exploring (and eating and drinking). The town is full of unique characters, quirky galleries and boutiques, plus it's a beer-lover's dream, with dozens of microbreweries scattered around town...they don't call it the "Brew" Ridge Parkway for nothing, you know!

A favorite Asheville stop for road travelers is the Lexington Avenue Brew. The pub food is locally sourced, and there's often live music. The industrial setting is pretty amazing, too.

You absolutely cannot visit Asheville and skip Wicked Weed. Here, they inspire rebellion and revolution with their brews, which include open-fermented Belgian beers and barrel-aged sours. If you want to feel like a rebel and drink epic beer, definitely grab a pint here.

While in Asheville, visit The Inn on Biltmore Estate: it's the perfect place to unwind amongst 19th century luxury. It's probably the Blue Ridge Mountains' most opulent estate, and a stay here will make you feel like Gilded Age royalty. There's free wifi, 24/7 room service and an onsite fine-dining restaurant, spa and bar.

And get a taste of luxury by visiting the Biltmore Estate itself. The 250-room house sits on 8,000 acres, making it America's largest house.

Don't forget to pack a swimsuit for your trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway, because there's an awesome natural slip 'n' slide along the route. This awesome waterfall, known as Sliding Rock, is on Looking Glass Creek in Pisgah National Forest, just outside Asheville. It takes sliders down a 60-foot slope, and they are then dumped into a big ol' plunge pool of icy cold water. Eleven thousand gallons of water pour over the smooth slab of granite every minute, so expect a swift ride down the rock and into the splash pool. Between the wind in your hair and and the cool, refreshing water, it's the perfect way to spend a sticky, sweltering, Southern summer day.

The drive will then take you into the Volunteer State. Since you're in Tennessee, you might as well try some moonshine. Ole Smoky is the first legal moonshine in Tennessee (a state that loves moonshine so much, at least one of its state songs outright mentions it), so you know it’s the real deal. A tour of the distillery offers a chance to learn about moonshine legends and the opportunity to taste their many flavors (from their original to the classic staple apple pie flavor to other fun varieties).

There are lots of places to stay in Pigeon Forge, because it's a very popular tourist destination. One great hotel is the Music Road Resort, which is located half a mile from the Titanic Museum, and features an outdoor water park, and an indoor pool and hot tub that are open 24/7. There's also a free hot breakfast and you can ask to upgrade to a room with a whirlpool tub and fireplace.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the area is incredibly awe-inspiring. Fall is a super popular time to visit the Smokies, and with good reason: the changing colors are unlike anything anywhere else in the world. However, you can avoid the crowds and still get awesome views in the summer, and when everything is blooming in the spring, it's absolutely stunning!

There are actually quite a few waterfalls to see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The waterfalls of The Sinks flow into a deep gorge with lots of little pools that make prime swimming holes, Mingo Falls are an impressive 120 feet tall (believe me, they're much more imposing in person), and you can walk right behind Grotto Falls.