My husband and I drove part of this road as we were traveling between Shenandoah NP and the Great Smoky Mountains NP. We would have loved to drive the whole route, but we didn’t have enough time. We primarily drove it near Roanoke and near the North Carolina/Virginia border. The views from some of the overlooks were comparable to the overlooks in the parks. It was really gorgeous. Both days we drove it (Thursday and Friday), there weren’t too many other cars. Thursday, near dusk, we saw lots of deer. Every mile or so we would see more for probably five to ten miles. We also saw a huge (15+) group of turkeys one day, and a smaller (maybe 10) the second day. It was easy driving and a great alternative to the interstates.

We started south on the Blue Ridge Pkway from N Carolina, not realizing that it is closed in 2 places after Cumberland Knob (mile market 217.5) where there is a 1 mile walk. They are doing construction there and then a bit further on a bridge so we had to detour about 40 miles+. We kept following the detour signs (vs getting on a main road and going straight to it later). We could not hike Fodder Stack Trail, or do Wildcats Overlook or Jeffress Park. We did end up in Blowing Rock (no good places to stay at last minute) and then Boone where we did stay. The next morning we continued to Cone Manor, in Moses Cone Memorial Park (lots of trails and nice to hike here) and did a nice tour of the historic house, and grounds and saw the Artisans area there. It is a scenic and twisty roadway that is very pretty. We had hoped the leaves would be changing but were about a week or 2 away from that. We continued to Linn Cove - there is an Observation deck with cool rocks (need to be able to clamor on rocks) to see a very nice view. We also hike to Linville Falls and did all of the viewings: upper, mid and lower observation areas. The falls were nice and it was a fun thing to do. The NC Arboretum is further south right off the Pkwy. There is a $20 parking fee and then it is free to tour the grounds. There is a lovely bonsai collection here. We picked up the Pkway again after visiting Asheville and went all the way to Tennessee via Newfound Gab Road which is a very scenic drive with lots of beautiful overlooks of mountains. This took us right into the Smokey Mountains where we did more hiking. Really a lovely area.

What a beautiful to America. This road trip was relaxing, beautiful, exhilarating, inspiring. So much to see and do. You can do the trip at your own pace and include hikes, waterfalls and beautiful scenery. Two lanes with no billboards and no semis. Hundreds of overlooks, great picnic areas and a national park at each end. This should be on everyone's bucket list!

We had never been on the parkway at this entry point (by the arboretum in Asheville). We just spent a late afternoon driving up a way enjoying the scenic view. The parkway is pretty in early spring and worth the time!

We drove from Asheville to Boone along the parkway and it was worth every minute. Signs, fences, and overlooks are all clean, well-kept, and easy to navigate. This is a true American treasure that everyone should enjoy at least once!