pyrowall

I'm planning a road trip next Summer (2017) from Washington DC down to Asheville NC.
We have 3 days to get there from Washington and 4 days to get back - we have to be in Asheville on a specific date.
Can I have some advice or recommendations of where to stay en route and some ideas of things to see. We don't have to go back the same way we went.
There'll be 2 adults, a nearly 7yr old and 2.5 yr old.
We are in the UK so we are not used to your roads etc. So some advice on tolls etc would also be very gratefully received.
Thanks!

Gretchen

You might get a map and see how some of the things people may suggest fit into a driving route.
I would suggest a stop in Winston-Salem, NC to see Old Salem, an historic village from the 1700's. there is also a museum of southern furniture there. It is not as large as somewhere like Williamsburg, but offers some of the same types of arts, food, craftsmen.

You would enjoy seeing Charlottesville and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.
We consider the drive through southwestern Virginia on I81 to be one of the most beautiful you can see.

You would enjoy driving a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway which goes right past Asheville. The speed limit is 45mph so you may not want to go too far but the views are beautiful.

thursdaysd

Any way you can add more time to the Asheville to Washington leg? One of the first trips I took after I arrived in the US from England (before I knew I would be staying) was to drive the whole length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive (which connect not that far from Charlottesville), but I took 14 days. From Asheville north the best part is as far as Boone, then in Virginia from Roanoke north.

I just noticed that the NPS website for Skyline Drive says you can do the whole thing in three hours, but I don't see the point in that!

weimarer

There are no toll roads anywhere on your route, so nothing to concern yourself with there. The Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP does have the admission fee of course. If your timing allows it, you might enjoy a stop in the tiny town of Floyd on a Friday night. Floyd is a few miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway southeast of Roanoke. The Country Store there puts on a bluegrass jam every Friday night, and you also have various impromptu performances on the street. It is fairly famous and attracts visitors from around the world. For lodging there, given your 2 young children, I'd suggest either the Hotel Floyd, the Pine Tavern Lodge or the Stonewall B&B.