gbhost

We (two adults, two young kids)are planning to drive Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway from Virginia to Tennessee this May and need a little advice on how to plan an itinerary.

How many miles can we expect to cover in a day with regular stops at overlooks and attractions? We'd like to do it in about 5 days, staying in hotels. Is this possible? We'd like to stay at a nice hotel (not in Asheville, we've done that) along the way for maybe 2 nights near some interesting attractions so we're not constantly in the car. Where can I find info on the best restaurants, hotels and attractions along the way?

cheapbutnice

I can best answer for the Skyline Drive portion. Stay at Big Meadows, Skyland or the Lewis Cabins and explore from there.You could day trip to Charlottesville/Monticello or the Harrisonburg/New Market Civil War & Amish areas.Consider taking Rte 81 south to speed the trip south. 35 mph for more than 60 of the miles couldbe too tedious for the kids.

Photodog

An excellent publication which lists a mile by mile rundown on attractions, food, lodging, camping, shopping etc is The Blue Ridge Parkway Directory & Travel Planner. It is published by the Blue Ridge Parkway Assoc Inc PO Box 2136 Asheville, NC 28802 or their website www.blueridgeparkway.org. Might also check out the parkway official site at www.nps.gov/blri/home/htm.
May is an excellent time for wild flowers but you won't see many going the 45 mph park speed limit. You might want to consider being in the Smokies from April 25-May 1 for their annual wildflower pilgrimage check out www.nps.gov/grsm/pphtml/eventdetail10320.html.

lincasanova

we did part of this trip many years ago. we had the intention of going MANY more miles on the parkway, but HAD to speed it up after several hours of much of the same scenery every day-

it is breathtaking, and we would take parts of it again, but it is definitely very slow and can be tedious, as mentioned.

i think we stayed at a lovely lodge at linville, if that is in the area (N.C.)
dining room overlooks beautiful canyon valley.

cmcfong

You might want to look into Chetola Lodge and resort in Blowing Rock. It is a comfortable lodge with a nice indoor pool, easy access to the park for hiking and there are several nice restaurants and shops in the area. It would be a nice way to break up the trip. Photodog has clued you to the best planning tool of all.

tedgale

Agree with lincasanova.

Four days ago, we drove part of the Skyline Drive (north from Waynesboro entrance to the first turnoff). Glorious sunshine, empty roads, 66 degrees F. that day. Perfect conditions.

But 35 mph speedlimit means it DOES take an hour to go 35 miles.

And after a while I -- who chose the route, love distant views and mountain scenery and was generally charmed by what we saw, (including the deer grazing by our car) finally said:

ENOUGH SCENERY ALREADY!

Sara

Be sure to make a stop at Luray Caverns, just a few miles off of Skyline Drive, and take a tour of the cave. It is beautiful and fascinating, and your kids will probably love it. Do wear a sweater or jacket, as it is always chilly uinderground, even when it's hot on the surface. This is a much better cave to vist than the one in Front Royal near the entrance to Skyline Drive.

radiofanatic

in the area of Roanoke, I would recommend Mill Mountain (with the huge star - why Roanoke is called the Star City) and a wonderful winery called Chateau Morrissette (there's a website) which has a wonderful restaurant, enjoyable tour and is one of my fave places. there is a b&b nearby if you want to make a night of it!

leahinsc

I agree w/ some of the other post-ers. Unless your children are somewhat remarkable, long distances of "ooo-ing" and "ahh-ing" at the vistas will quickly bore them to tears and hopefully you have already planned to keep them occupied w/ a backseat DVD player? I think you should pick strategic stretches of both the Parkway and Skyline Drive, and intersperse it w/ highway driving and frequent stops at Caverns, Grandfather Mtn, etc types of attractions to keep them entertained and yourselves from going crazy. I would vote for a night in Blowing Rock.

Cher

We did this drive several years ago - Skyline Drive from Virginia to Smoky Mtn Park in NC over 4 days - staying 3 nights - one each in Skyland, then Roanoke, and Blowing Rock. We then stayed 3 nights in Maggie Valley at the Cataloochee Ranch and explored the area around there; then another couple nights in Gatinburg, Tenn ... Thought that was just right.

The fun part in driving the Blue Ridge Parkway was not just the scenery on the parkway, but also the various side trips. There were actually a few more things I would have liked to do along the way if we had allotted an additional night.

It takes quite a bit longer to cover distances than you would expect because of the slower speeds you have to drive. Also, you can really run into some dense fog, especially as you get into North Carolina. The day we were leaving Blowing Rock, the Parkway was actually closed most of the morning due to fog. This through our plans off a bit as well.

Have fun ... That's always been one of our more memorable vacations!

gbhost

Thanks everyone for the advice so far. If we were to intersperse our parkway drive with some juants down the freeway, what might be some of the better areas to do this? i.e. stretches along the way with little of interest? Or perhaps I should ask what are the don't miss spots along the way?
Thanks again for all the good tips.

DVCChris

You may want to keep close watch on the National Park Service Web Site. Portions of the Parkway were washed out in last Fall's storms and one section is slated to take over one year to complete.

Last June, we did the entire parkway from Smoky Mountains to Shenandoah, including Skyline Drive. I second most of the advice given here. It's a beautiful drive, but can be long. We did hit a good 1/2 day of fog and were socked in for most of those days. We Stayed at Bluff's lodge and Peaks of Otter Lodge. Peaks of Otter was decent with clean, basic accommodations and decent food. We did not like Bluff's lodge at all. It was an older property and the restaurant was not good. We had a great lunch at Pisgah Inn and it seemed like it would be a decent place to stay.

In Shenandoah, we stayed in Skyline Lodge.. You can't beat staying in either Big Meadows, or Skyline for in-park accommodations. Not the Hilton, but nice, clean, basic accommodations RIGHT in the park..

cmcfong

A second for the stop at Chateau Morrissette Winery. The Black Dog restaurant there is excellent. Another diversion might be to stop at Mt. Airy, NC and visit the birthplace of Andy Griffith and a town devoted to the memory of Mayberry.
Also a second for the pan of the Bluffs restaurant. It was fabulous, country food maybe twenty years ago. Today it is dreadful.

ThePhan

The most spectacular scenery on the Blue Ridge Parkway, in my opinion, is din North Carolina from the south entrance at the Great Smoky Mountains NP to Blowing Rock, NC. This also includes the highest elevations on the parkway, and indeed in the eastern U.S.

However, the parkway is closed at this time just north of Mount Mitchell to near Linville Falls. Depending upon road reconstruction conditions at the time of your trip in May, you may want to jump off the parkway at Linville Falls and go south on US 221 to I-40 into Asheville, then take the parkway from there south again all the way to the Great Smoky Mtns NP. This would still allow you the chance to visit Grandfather Mtn., too.

Asheville is a great city and worth an overnight stop. Certainly the Biltmore Estate is worth a visit, and there are numerous other attractions and activities in the area.

In Virginia, I-81 parallels the parkways for much of its length and would be a good high-speed alternative to the parkway.

Sweens

One additional remark from the For-What-It's-Worth Dept., regarding sensitivity toward the kiddie-poos... We drove a bit of it from Front Royal on our way to Charlottesville last summer, and we, too, got a bit tired of the slow drive, breathtaking as it is. Now, we have driven cross-country twice with our kids in a mini-van, and we are all excellent travelers (kids now aged 11, 6 and 3). We did not expect car sickness, but the winding roads did get to our kids, one of whom was unable to contain her, uh... well you get the idea. Fortunately she did wait until we were about 20 min. from Charlottesville. Just a word of caution is all! Maybe carry air sickness bags or something. But do have fun.

LOYL

The reason you're getting so many responses is that this is a beautiful trip. My husband and I stayed at Skyland in October- it was a great place to stay- saw deer on our way to breakfast. Luray caverns would be great for your kids, too. My husband and I enjoyed it. We drove awhile, and then did some short hikes along the Appalachian Trail. Depending on your children's age, hiking the trail would be a neat experience.

Pat2003

Consider visiting Chimner Rock. Take route 74A from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville to Chimney Rock

gbhost

ttt

gbhost

Topping for one final try at getting info about the best of the BRPkwy...

lincasanova

very nice place we stayed was pisgah inn. attractive views from dining room. worth a stop at least.( this was MANY years ago. canīt vouch for rooms now!)

also.. llinville falls very nice.
and asheville.