8 Places You Must Visit on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Where Shenandoah National Park’s famous Skyline Drive ends, the Blue Ridge Parkway begins. Take a moment to tarry around the park’s southern entrance at Rockfish Gap, perhaps hopping briefly on the Appalachian Trail—it runs roughly parallel to the road. The beloved Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail, a 2.25-mile (3.6-kilometer) hike—of which almost half is in complete darkness—can be found here, too. Bring your flashlight or cell phone.

Stop off at mile marker 176 to do a bit of time travel—Mabry Mill, a wooden gristmill, dates back to the early 1900s, but you’d never know a year has passed. Sitting next a stream and cloaked in hardwoods, it’s one of the most photographed stops on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Short trails allow you to explore different vantage points, and the on-site restaurant offers cozy Southern fare and overflow parking, as this is a popular stop (especially on weekends).

As the largest recreation area on the parkway, Doughton Park offers a great chance to see the area’s landscapes, take a picnic, or just stretch your legs. Tiny waterfalls line the road, open meadows roll for miles, and historic cabins and hiking trails offer much to see and do. Line up at the old-school counter at The Bluffs Restaurant—for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—if you forgot to pack that picnic.

Once you’ve grabbed a snack or lunch in the artsy town of Blowing Rock, head for the parking area at mile 302.8 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Rough Ridge Trail leads from here, turning into a boardwalk at around 0.3 miles (0.5 kilometers). You can stop here for fantastic views—look for the Linn Cove Viaduct and Grandfather Mountain in the distance—or keep hiking another 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) to the 4,773-foot (1,455-meter) summit. Up here, you’ll find a rock formation called “Lion King Rock,” jutting out into the valley below. Try to resist taking a selfie, we dare you.

A curving bridge hanging off the side of a mountain? Yeah, that sounds like something worth seeing—and driving across. This engineering marvel hugs Grandfather Mountain, snaking for some 7 miles (11 kilometers). At the southern end, you’ll find a museum and visitor center, where you can hop out of the car to make a quick pit stop and stretch your legs on the area trails. They go under and beside the viaduct and make for a few spectacular photo ops.

Welcome to the highest mountain in the Appalachians—and the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River—which stands at 6,684 feet (2,037 meters), and is surrounded by the state park of the same name. While there are multiple fantastic trails in the area, it’s just a paved quarter-mile (0.5 kilometer) walk up to the summit from the highest parking lot. Make the quick jaunt and, on a clear day, you’ll see for 85 miles (137 kilometers) across those Blue Ridge forests. Don’t forget to pack a light jacket, though.

Insider tip: The state park offers a visitor center, gift shop, museum, restrooms, and a restaurant, should you need a longer stop.

Just south of Asheville, Mt. Pisgah—and the surrounding Pisgah National Forest—was long a playground for folks including George Vanderbilt. Today, there’s a lodge, campground, country store, restaurant, picnic area, and a score of scenic viewpoints to scope out off the Blue Ridge Parkway, such as the Mount Pisgah and Buck Springs Lodge overlooks. The former sits atop a tunnel and offers a trail to the mountaintop.

Insider tip: The nearby 16-mile (26-kilometer) Shut-In Trail, part of a route Vanderbilt used for hunting, combines a bit of history with serious outdoor adventure.

The Blue Ridge Parkway ends in the small community of Cherokee, North Carolina, one of the entrances to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You’ll pop off the parkway, hanging a right onto Newfound Gap Road, another ultra-scenic drive that ultimately winds up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

But before you book it toward Dollywood, explore the parkway’s endings. Check out the Oconaluftee Overlook, the historic log cabins of Mountain Farm Museum, the 1886 Mingus Mill, and the Oconaluftee River Trail. The rest of the US' most-visited national park lies just beyond your car door.