We need sugestions to drive from Washington,DC to Atlanta,GA.
Me and my husband have about 8 days to this trip and will be at Washington by next October 10th. Our idea is to avoid the highways and look for places where we could enjoy the change of the colours of the trees at that time of the year. Please help us with sugestions regarding places to stay, things to see and to do, restaurants, etc.
Thanks a lot.

I'm a little confused by your post, can't tell if you're headed S to N or N to S. Either way, first week in October is typically on the early side for color change except possibly in the western most and more mountainous parts of the VA, NC and SC. Maybe you could start your search there?

I think it is quite clear that the person is driving from DC to Atlanta.

If you want a scenic route, you could go via Shenandoah Park and the George Washington National Forest, but it is way out of the way. The usual route from DC to Atlanta is via interstate 95 (look at your map).

Another scenic route but slow is to go via 301 and the bridge-tunnel through Norfolk and then join the interstate. You will go through some small towns in the Delmarva peninsula that are on or near the Atlantic Ocean. There are plenty of B & B's and the like there and also Ocean City, MD (more of a resort type place than scenic).

Like Lauren said, the usual and fastest route is 95 to 85. But that is boring and not scenic. And everytime I've done that drive, there has been horrible construction and traffic around Charlotte and I swear I'll never do it again.

You say want to avoid highways - do you mean all interstates? I can't imagine driving back roads the whole way but you certainly could.

An interstate route that is more scenic would be 66 to 81 to 75, and it's not that much slower (and it avoids Charlotte). If you go that way, you could detour around Staunton VA to drive down the Blue Ridge parkway for a while, which sort of parallels 81. It might be too early for fall colors, but that's a beautiful drive anyway. If you truly want to avoid interstates and want a long scenic drive, get on Skyline drive way up near 66 and take it all the way down to the Blue Ridge Pkway.

If you take 81, you could also take 26 down through Asheville to 85, and Asheville would be a good place to visit for a day or two, depending on how much time you have.

Yes, we are driving from DC to Atlanta. Actually we prefer scenic routes, so I guess our option would be via Shenandoah Park and G.Washington National Forest instead of going near the Atlantic Ocean. Any other sugestions? Thanks.

What you can do is take I-66 west from DC area and turn off at Front Royal for a trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway (Skyline Drive) going south, which is the latter part of Cheryl's suggestion. You can get off around the I-64 interchange and go east to visit Charlottesville, VA, home of The University of Virginia. At that point, you can go to Monticello, spend time in Charlottesville. The Boar's Head Inn is still probably the best place near Charlottesville.

From Charlottesville you can access the Blue Ridge Parkway again for more meandering, or take US 29 all the way to Greensboro and hop on I-85 to Atlanta. I-81 goes pretty far west before you double back southeast at Asheville, but the western part of NC is nice.

It might be helpful for you to go to the web site virginiadot.org/travel/maporder.asp and order a free copy of "A Map of Scenic Roads in Virginia." Incidentally, if you do go on the Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway, please realize that it is a two-lane road with a 35 mph speed limit.