Skyline Drive and/or Blue Ridge Parkway
 

I'm planning a driving trip to Charleston, SC and on to Savannah. Thought I would drive the Blue Ridge Parkway south to Interstate 77 then on to Charleston. Can't decide if I want to first take Skyline Drive. (Do want to do the Luray Caverns though) So my question is, if you had to pick a favorite drive -- the Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway (from Waynesboro to Mount Airy area), what would be your favorite?

I'm looking for photo opps mostly. I'm sort of flexible as to length of time on these scenic drives. But, I don't want to get bored with redundancy either. If the first half of the Blue Ridge is far superior to Skyline Drive, I'll skip Skyline Drive.

I'd pick Skyline. It is a more scenic drive, and you will still have a chance to get on the BR Parkway when you reach the southern end of Shenandoah. It is very pretty and you'll have many chances to get out and stretch.

A couple things, though, Skyline is often closed after a storm, so watch the weather. Also, I think the speed limit on Skyline is 35 mph, so you will slow down your trip for those miles.

I vote for BR Pkwy because (1) it's free! (2) the views are outstanding! From when you first get on there are beautiful overlooks. The speed limit is 45.

But you could always do Skyline and then stay on the BR pkwy for a little while and get off after about an hour if you're bored. Like Skyline, it can be closed for Winter Weather (even on days you don't think there could possibly be ice on it) so check before banking on driving it. Have a wonderful trip and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for both of your ideas. I'm planning my trip now (isn't that half the fun), but don't think I will go until March or April. Hopefully the weather won't be as big an issue.

After looking closely at the map and seeing the proximity of Toms Brook, I think I will drive to the north end of the Skyline Drive. I'll take a leisurely 3 days to do both drives to Route 77 and explore.

Since I'm so close, I want to go to the Hottel/Keller homestead and museum in Toms Brook and begin to explore Skyline Drive. Maybe stay in Luray and do the caverns and finish the Skyline Dr.

Stay in Afton/Charlottesville/Waynesboro and start the Blue Ridge Parkway in the morning. I'll do the Parkway during the day and in the evening drive on to Charleston.

Any reasonably priced B&B's in these places you know of? Afton Mountain B&B and the Strasburg Inn looked like good prospects. Since it looks like this may turn into a full two week long trip, I want to keep my room rates a $100/night or less.

Thanks.

Do you mean Strasburg Hotel in Strasburg just north of Tom's Brook? If so it is quite nice, tho we only go there to eat. It's our favorite for special occasions. If you have time after Tom's Brook, drive another four miles south to Woodstock and see our Old Court House (1795) and still in use, our Woodstock museum, and take Tower Road up to the Woodstock Tower. From the tower, you look down on the Seven Bends of the Shenandoah River, and looking west to I-81 the semi's look like match boxes.

Thanks, Ronkala, looks like a couple more things to add to the itinerary.

I'm from out west where the mountains are mountains and I was still enticed to try Skyline Drive a few years ago.

I really came away loving it! I was impressed by how many deer I saw right on or near the roadway, and the whole thing was just a pleasant dollop of nature semi-convenient to some areas that could use "nature" at times.

It does go fairly slow but you get your mind ready for that and it won't hurt at all.

Just my thoughts.

We're considering taking a similar trip in June. We'll be starting out in Tennessee and will probably head east and drive the Blue Ridge and then on to Charleston, Savannah and back through Atlanta. Looking forward to seeing the responses you receive.

CC,
There are a couple of options for reaching Luray. From Strasburg go into Front Royal and take route 340 into Luray, (the quickest) go into FR and take Skyline Drive south to route 211 and take that to Luray, or from Strasburg, take route 11 or I-81 south through Woodstock to New Market and get on route 211 there.

Incidently, if you are coming from the north on I-81, you can watch potato chips being made at the Route 11 Potato Chip factory in Middletown. The Belle Grove Plantation/Cedar Creek Battlefield, a new National Park, is between Middletown and Strasburg also on route 11.