The Scenic Highway of the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic highway that winds along the Appalachian Mountains for 469 miles. It connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. In Virginia, Skyline Drive travels through the Shenandoah National Park for 106 miles. The Skyline Drive starts in Front Royal, Virginia at Milepost 0 in the Shenandoah National Park, and heads south toward Waynesboro, Virginia. In Waynesboro the Skyline Drive ends and the Blue Ridge Parkway begins at Milepost 0.

The Blue Ridge Parkway winds south through the beautiful mountains and plateaus of Virginia then crosses into North Carolina at Milepost 216.9 in Yadkin Valley. It continues through North Carolina into the areas of Boone and Blowing Rock, southward through the Asheville area, and ends at the entrance of The Great Smoky Mountains in Cherokee, North Carolina at Milepost 469.

 

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway with breathtaking mountain views, peaceful valley landscapes, and picturesque views all along the 469 miles. It is intended to be a leisurely drive through the Blue Ridge Mountain range, a two-lane highway with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour specifically set for site seeing. The slow speed is meant for a leisurely drive to view and enjoy the scenery. It is closed to commercial traffic.

Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost

The parkway is marked by mileposts all along the 469 miles making it easy to find the attractions designated by milepost. Mileposts are designated stops that offer scenic overlooks, glimpses of mountain farm life, scenes of natural wonder, spectacular views, hiking trails, caverns, tunnels, and beautiful scenes of nature and wildlife. A ride on the  Blue Ridge Parkway at any time is a scenic adventure but in the fall when the annual fall foliage show takes place it is truly a beautiful and scenic highway to travel.

Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway:

● Shenandoah Valley in Virginia
● Virginia Blue Ridge Parkway Section
● North Carolina Blue Ridge Parkway Section
● Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway

Virginia-Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway

Along the Skyline Drive that takes you through Virginia interesting stops along the way are the Luray Caverns, the Shenandoah Caverns, Roanoke, and the Natural Bridge. The Virginia section of the Blue Ridge parkway begins after exiting the Shenandoah Valley and winds through Jefferson County and the Blue Ridge Highlands area. Interesting stops are Humpback Rocks James River, Peaks of Otter, Rocky Knob & Mabry Mill, and Blue Ridge Music Center.

North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway enters North Carolina in Yadkin Valley, then continues

down to the High Country in the far left north corner of the state and passes such places as Boone, Blowing Rock, Grandfather Mountain, and Linville. The most photographed part of the Blue Ridge Parkway is The Linn Cove Viaduct at MP 304. The Blue Ridge Asheville section includes Little Switzerland, Black Mountain, and Asheville.  After passing through Balsam and Maggie Valley the parkway ends at Cherokee near the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is where the Blue Ridge Parkway ends at Milepost 469 at Cherokee, NC.

A 3-minute tour along the Blue Ridge Parkway