4 Best Sights in Central and Western Virginia, Virginia

The Blue Ridge Parkway takes up where Skyline Drive leaves off at Waynesboro, weaving south for 469 miles to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The parkway goes up to higher elevations than the drive, up to 4,200 feet at Apple Orchard Mountain, and even higher in North Carolina. In Virginia the parkway is especially scenic between Waynesboro and Roanoke, winding through the George Washington National Forest, visiting numerous ridgetop overlooks that provide views of crumpled-looking mountains and patchwork valleys.

Milepost 0 is at Rockfish Gap. There are no gas stations on the parkway, so you'll have to exit if you need to refuel, and be prepared for a leisurely drive as the speed limit is 45 mph. Go to the Visitor Center at Explore Park, open 9–5 daily year-round, 1.5 miles north of milepost 115 near Roanoke, or call the National Park Service's office in Vinton (540/857–2490) for information on Virginia's section of the parkway.

A series of cascades fall a distance of 1,200 feet. Combined, Virginia claims this is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, though no single waterfall within the series would qualify as such. Whatever the superlatives or qualifications, the falls are a wondrous sight. A trail winds up a steep mountainside all the way to the top, but the first overlook is an easy stroll 700 feet from the lower parking lot. The best time to see the waterfalls is winter through spring, when the water is high.

Mabry Mill, north of Meadows of Dan and the Blue Ridge Parkway's junction with U.S. 58 at milepost 176, 55 miles south of Roanoke, is one of the parkway's most popular stops for photographers. There is also a restaurant and gift shop on site.

Peaks of Otter Recreation Area, 25 miles northeast of Roanoke, offers a close-up view of cone-shaped Sharp Top Mountain, which Thomas Jefferson once called America's tallest peak. At 3,875 feet it's not even the tallest in the park—nearby Flat Top is 4,004 feet. You can hike to both peaks and to little brother Harkening Hill, as well as to Fallingwater Cascades, a thrilling multi-tier waterfall. For those not up to the climb, a bus heads most of the way up Sharp Top hourly throughout the day during the on-season. The peaks rise about the shores of Abbott Lake, a bucolic picnic spot. A pleasant lakeside lodge and campground along the placid lake below are an ideal base for local trekking.