Road Trip Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

After our last airplane/train/city adventure in Chicago, we decided it was time to take the edge off the summer heat with a mountain hiking trip. We also wanted to do a “big” trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary, but without the hassle of plane travel. Thus was born the idea of a leisurely road trip to visit three connecting parks: Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway, and Shenandoah National Park. During the trip we visited so many different places that it would be impossible to describe them all in detail, so I decided to try a journal-style summary of the road trip for this post.

Days 1-2

We started out in Cherokee, NC, on the eastern edge of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, first taking care of administrative tasks like purchasing a new annual America the Beautiful park pass and purchasing the newly-required parking pass for GRSM. We eased into our adventures with a hike on the well-maintained Mingus Cemetery Trail, which leads from the Mingus Mill to a historic family cemetery. The steady uphill climb through dense, humid forest included several stream crossings (bridges provided) and plenty of chances to appreciate moss and mushrooms. On our second day, we explored several hikes in the Clingman’s Dome area in hopes of finding better views than on our prior visit in April 2018. First we headed down the Andrews Bald Trail through dense fir forest to an open heath bald. Then we trudged up the paved but very steep path to the Clingman’s Dome observation tower. We covered over 5 miles and over 1,200 feet of elevation gain in search of great views. Naturally the best views we saw were from the parking lot. But the experience was much better than our prior visit, and temperatures in the 50s made for pleasant hiking.

In town, we checked out high quality works by Cherokee artisans at the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. The co-op offers items like elaborate baskets, wood carvings, and jewelry, while a gallery inside the co-op includes many historic examples of Cherokee crafts. It was fun seeing the Cherokee language and alphabet in use on signs around town. In Cherokee we stayed at the River’s Edge Motel, an older property that has been completely renovated, mostly because we wanted to enjoy sitting on a private balcony overlooking the Oconoluftee River. And enjoy it we did. We brought along our own breakfast and snack items, and for dinners out we tried two different casual restaurants in the main commercial area of Cherokee. Native Brews Tap & Grill offers decent burgers and good beer, which we inhaled after a day of driving and hiking. Wize Guyz was recommended by the hotel, and it proved the perfect place to get a take-out pizza to enjoy back at the hotel on the balcony.

 

Day 3

We started our northward journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway early, but were immediately waylaid by elk-involved traffic jams. We eventually got moving and stopped at multiple viewpoints throughout the day. The Waterrock Knob area has a visitor center (closed when we arrived), another chance to hike a steep paved path to an overlook, and outstanding views from the parking lot. We made a longer stop to hike in the Pisgah National Forest. We revisited the Black Balsam Knob/Tennent Mountain section of the Art Loeb Trail, which we had enjoyed on our visit to the area last summer. Just like last year, the ridgetop hiking offered spectacular panoramic views, while the rocky inclines punished our ankles. We also stopped in to the Pisgah Inn to check out this historic property located right along the Parkway for a potential future visit. The panoramic views and location just outside Asheville make it an appealing destination. We arrived in Asheville in late afternoon, in time to shower and relax before heading over to see dear friends Eric and Laurel at their lovely home in Flat Rock. The delicious dinner and great company meant we stayed way too late.

Day 4

We had a more relaxed day, indulging in a large Hampton Inn breakfast before meeting Eric and Laurel at the fabulous North Carolina Arboretum. We walked around the formal gardens together before walking a few miles along the trails in the forest. The pace was leisurely enough that it felt like a break from all the intense hiking, even though we clocked several miles. Then we refreshed ourselves by visiting the enormous tap room at the east coast plant of Sierra Nevada Brewing. We were treated to live music, excellent sunny weather on the expansive patio, and of course plenty of laughter with friends. Ken and I returned to our hotel (the Hampton Inn in Fletcher near the Asheville airport) and visited a Longhorn Steakhouse across the street from the hotel for dinner.

Day 5

We resumed our northward journey on the Parkway, making stops at Mount Mitchell State Park and Linville Falls. With spectacular clear weather, we had good visibility from Mount Mitchell and pleasant temperatures in the 50s as we headed out on the Deep Gap Trail. We just did the first section, from Mount Mitchell to the peak of Mount Craig and back, which gave us plenty of elevation change and scrambling for entertainment. The terrain makes travel slow, at about 45 minutes per mile, and we spent an hour and a half traversing 2 miles. We then continued driving north, traveling across the famous Linn Cove Viaduct, before stopping at the Linville Falls Visitor Center to take a hike to view the multi-tiered falls. We ended the day in Blowing Rock, NC, a very charming little mountain town just 1.5 miles off the Parkway. We dug into the excellent burger and beer offerings at the Blowing Rock Ale House before enjoying a bottle of wine outside in the cute gazebo at our hotel, the historic Hemlock Inn.

 

Day 6

This was a big driving day, clocking about 175 miles along the Parkway, plus whatever mileage was added by a long detour around the Doughton Park area in North Carolina where a major Parkway bridge replacement and paving project has been going on for over a year. Our destination was Roanoke, and we spent most of the day traveling through rolling farmland instead of forest. Much of the land along the Parkway in SW Virginia is in private hands and actively used for grazing and hay fields. We made a few stops just to stretch our legs and break up the long day of driving. Our first stop was at the Blue Ridge Music Center near Galax, where we studied the interesting exhibits on the history of American music and spent a few minutes listening to the daily live music performance. A little later we stopped in at Mabry Mill, a working water-powered grain and sawmill that anchors a display “village” showing buildings, farm implements, and household crafts from 19th century Appalachian farm life. We made Roanoke in the late afternoon and crashed at a Hampton Inn in the suburb of Salem.

 

Day 7

Fortified by yet another hearty Hampton Inn breakfast, we pushed on to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. North of Roanoke the Parkway runs through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and the forested mountain scenery is reminiscent of the North Carolina sections, albeit at much lower elevations. Our final hike along the Parkway was the short hike down to the Fallingwater Cascades water feature. With lower elevation comes much higher temperatures, and between the heat, humidity, flying insects, and too many spider webs across the trail at face level, we were happy this trail was scenic but fairly brief. We drove off the northern end of the Parkway at mid-day and immediately continued north on Skyline Drive, the connecting road that runs through Shenandoah National Park, to begin our adventures in a new-to-us national park.

 

Impressions

The Parkway is the ultimate linear park, and we are really glad we explored the entire length. The scenery changes throughout the drive, and different sections offer very different terrain, temperatures, and hiking opportunities. Now we know which areas we like best, so we can make targeted return visits to our favorite sections.

Our itinerary included multiple stops each day, and we switched drivers at about the midpoint of each day’s drive, which really added to our overall enjoyment. Driving the Parkway for hours on end can be taxing, thanks to the very winding road with frequent changes in slope and elevation, and the need to be constantly vigilant about road hazards (mainly bicyclists, deer, and turkeys). Driving in shorter stretches kept the driver fresh and not frustrated. And since we were driving and hiking nearly every day, we were also happy with the decision to keep most of our hikes on the shorter side (no more than 3 miles) to minimize the risk of exhaustion or injury. Overall, we were really pleased with the pacing of the trip and our experiences along the way.

Next up: Our visit to Shenandoah National Park gets its own post; stay tuned to find out what these goofballs accomplished there.