This section ends at the city of Roanoke. The most popular-and most developed-stretch of the parkway, the Peaks of Otter section includes a visitors center (540/586-4496), gas station, restaurant, and pleasant lodge (540/586-1081, year-round, $129 and up) Three peaks rise above a small lake and give great sunrise and sunset views many good trails, including a two-mile loop to Fallingwater Cascades, let you escape the sometimes-sizable crowds. Great views can be had over both valleys from the highest point on the parkway in Virginia, at 3,950 feet. Photo © Botetourt County Tourism – Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. This is the lowest point on the parkway, at 649 feet, and also the junction with US-501, which runs west along the James River for 15 miles to Natural Bridge.Ĭanoeing along the James River. ![]() The James River Visitor Center (434/299-5496) offers exhibits and trails along the James River and Kanawha Canal. The Yankee Horse parking area has an exhibit on an old logging railroad, part of which has been restored, and a short trail to Wigwam Falls. Humpback Rocks has a short but strenuous trail (45 minutes each way), leading through a reconstructed farmstead and a visitors center (visitors center at Milepost 5.9), ending with a 270-degree view over the mountains. Rockfish Gap at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park’s Skyline Drive, marks the northern start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway: From Shenandoah National Park to Roanoke For ease of use, we’ve divided the Blue Ridge Parkway into three main sections, starting with the drive between Shenandoah National Park and Roanoke. While the parkway avoids towns and commercial areas to concentrate on the scenery, many interesting towns and other places along the way are well worth a detour. The last section near Linn Cove Viaduct in North Carolina was completed in the mid-1980s. Map overview from Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip travel guide.įirst proposed in the 1920s, the bulk of the Blue Ridge Parkway was constructed in many stages between 19, during which time it grew from a network of local roads to the current route, along which billboards and commercial traffic are both banned. Spring is wildflower time, with abundant azaleas and rhododendrons blooming orange, white, pink, and red throughout May and June, especially at the higher elevations. This is especially true during autumn, when the dogwoods and gum trees turn deep red, and the hickories yellow, against an evergreen backdrop of pines, hemlocks, and firs. ![]() Starting at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park and winding along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park some 469 miles away, the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the country’s great scenic drives.
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