Day 1: We started our road trip and entered Shenandoah National Park at the Front Royal entrance. Driving along the picturesque Skyline Drive through the park we exited the park at the middle entrance, where we stayed overnight at an Airbnb. If you plan on doing any hiking at Shenandoah I would add an extra day. We have been to this National Park several times so we’ve seen and explored before. Some of our favorite hikes are Hawksbill and Stony Man as both hikes offer incredible views!
Day 2: We picked up Skyline drive where we left off and drove through the entirety of Shenandoah National Park. At the end of the park’s Skyline Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway begins. We drove the first section of the parkway until we reached Tuggle Gap. This is where we exited and went to Blacksburg, Virginia where we had rented an Airbnb for the night. We had never been to Blacksburg before and wanted to explore the beautiful town which is home to Virginia Tech. I probably won’t stay here again though as it was a 40 minute detour off the B.R.P. (Blue Ridge Parkway). Roanoke would be a much better place to stop for the night as it is in close proximity to the B.R.P. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate this day and the hikes and sights we had wanted to see got rained out. We were still able to do a lot of the overlooks but obviously the views weren’t the best and often fogged over. I was excited to see and explore Peaks of Otter, but unfortunately with the rain that didn’t happen. We did however pull over to see the lake and I would definitely put Peaks of Otter on your must see list for this section of the B.R.P. Something worth noting that like any National Park cell reception is often nonexistent therefore I would highly recommend stopping at a visitor center and getting a copy of what mile post marker they recommend exiting for fuel. This is something that I would even say to map and plan out before your trip. For us the fuel situation was a little bit complicated in that some of the gas stations we went to (that were on the map we had picked up at the visitor center) were no longer in service and we found ourselves wasting time and fuel going to different ones. On this day, at the advice of a friendly park ranger, we exited the B.R.P. at route 43 (right after Peaks of Otter) and went to the town of Bedford, Virginia. We were able to find a modern gas station as well as a sandwich shop (Town Kitchen & Provisions) to eat lunch.
Day 3: We headed back to Tuggle Gap to pick up the B.R.P. where we had exited the day before. This day the weather cooperated a bit more and I’m so glad because there was so much to see! Our first stop besides some beautiful overlooks was Mabry Mill. This is a definite must see! It’s an old grist mill that was built in 1908 and the mill and surrounding property are beautiful! There is a restaurant here as well although we did not eat there. Unfortunately we did hit a thunderstorm and by the time we got to Linn Cove Viaduct it was so foggy you couldn’t see the beautiful view. This was disappointing so we decided to come back to this part of the B.R.P. the next day. The weather had cleared by the time we got to Linville Falls and we were able to hike to all 3 lookout points. Highly recommend doing this as the waterfalls are beautiful! From the falls we made numerous stops along the way at overlooks and our next stop was Craggy Gardens. We hiked the Craggy Gardens trail and were treated to a fantastic view at the top! This trail is another must do! After Craggy Gardens we headed to Asheville where we would be staying.
Day 4: Since Linn Cove Viaduct was a bust we decided to spend the day doing things near that section of the B.R.P. so that we could get a re-do. We went to Grandfather mountain which was so fun! We hiked while we were there, had a picnic lunch, and of course walked across the mile high bridge! After this we drove over to the B.R.P. and drove across Linn Cove Viaduct. I’m glad we redid this part because the views were incredible! After this we then went to Mount Mitchell State Park. Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi, and we had to check out those epic views! Then it was back to Asheville where we checked out the local provisions. This was our second night in Asheville and we could’ve easily added a 3rd night here as this felt a bit rushed to me. We’ve been to Asheville before and had already done the Biltmore experience, but there is so much to do and see here I think an extra day would’ve been nice to explore the city more. Plus I just really like Asheville so an extra day here is never a bad thing!
Day 5: It was back to the B.R.P. and time for the final leg of our road trip. Be prepared to make many, many stops during this section because it is so gorgeous-but I mean this really applies to the entire parkway! The section driving through Pisgah National Forest had epic view after epic view. Some of my favorites were; Looking Glass Rock, Devils Courthouse, and of course the “highest point on the parkway”. The parkway ends at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was a great spot to stop and stretch before continuing on our journey. We happened to see a herd of Elk here which was really cool! From the visitor center we headed to Tail of the Dragon. Tail of the Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of 318 curves on US 129, and is said to be America’s best road! (You can find out more information about Tail of the Dragon here.) I had no idea what to expect at the Dragon, but this turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for me! It was so much fun to ride passenger as my husband twisted through the turns. I would highly recommend if you are a motor enthusiast. After the Dragon we went to Cherohala Skyway. My opinion of this road was it wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the B.R.P. It would have probably been more impressive if we hadn’t just done the B.R.P. I’m glad we can say we did it though. From Cherohala we went back to the Smokies and drove through the park before heading to our cabin.
Day 6: This day it was all about exploring the Smokies! We have been to the Smokies before so I focused on doing things we hadn’t done before. If this is your first time here I definitely recommend adding on at least 1 extra day so that you have time for all of the hiking. This happened to be a Wednesday and on Wednesdays May-October they close down Cades Cove to motor vehicle traffic and you can bike the 11 mile loop or walk it. We rented bikes at the visitor center and did the full 11 mile loop. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me! We saw 10 black bears while biking! (Don’t worry we weren’t close to any of them as you can see from the photos. We made sure to always keep a safe distance and more importantly respect the animals and their home!) Seeing wildlife “in the wild” is something that brings me so much joy! I get so excited every single time because it’s so incredible to see these majestic animals! The views while biking were breathtaking as well, which truly made this such a magical experience. Cades Cove has a wonderful picnic area and we had our picnic lunch here. After our bike ride we decided to go to Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, because a fellow bicyclist told us they had been earlier in the day and had seen black bears here as well. Sadly we did not see any on our drive through, but it was very beautiful.
Day 7: Time to head back home which is always bittersweet! (It’s about an 8 hour drive from Great Smoky Mountains to Pittsburgh.)
I hope this itinerary is helpful and maybe inspires you to take your own “Great American Road Trip” down the Blue Ridge Parkway! This road trip far exceeded any expectations I had and in fact was one of our favorite vacations. It was such a relaxing and laid back trip. I cant say enough about how stunning the Blue Ridge Parkway is. If you have any questions please comment and let me know-I’d be happy to help if I can! Something to keep in mind is that the B.R.P. is 45mph the entire way and there is so much to see! Our days were packed full each and every day. We would wake up early and get on the road and often times didn’t get to our final destination until dinner time. So definitely keep that in mind when planning your trip.
