The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the states of North Carolina and Virginia. It is regularly ranked as one of the top scenic drives in the United States.
Running for 469 miles, the Parkway is roughly the same distance from beginning to end as the state of Florida is long. Along its route it crosses 168 bridges and passes through 25 tunnels. It ascends to 6,683 feet and falls to 670 feet above sea level.
As a scenic parkway, the Blue Ridge was consciously designed to be rural and rustic. It avoids major population centers. The land on either side of the road is owned and maintained by the National Park Service. There are no services along the road, not even garbage cans at the turnouts.
The Parkway is an undivided two lane highway for most of its length. Commercial traffic is not permitted, and access points are limited. The speed limit is 40 mph. Those in a hurry or with business elsewhere tend to avoid it. For these reasons, it is sparsely traveled. Traveling on it can feel like driving on a highway from an earlier era, when the world was less populated and commercialism hadn’t yet besmirched the landscape.
Along the roadsides flowers and shrubs grow in profusion. Rhododendrons, asters and daisies bloom in the springtime amidst redbuds and dogwoods. Oaks, hickories, and ashes dominate the woodlands. Red-winged Black Birds, Yellow-breasted Chat and Great-crested fly catchers flit between the branches.
The Appalachian Trail meanders along beside the roadway, crossing over and under it, weaving in and out like a wreath of laurels on the brow of the ridge. Hikers appear as if out of nowhere, and then vanish.
From the ridgeline the countryside sweeps away in either direction like water off the crest of a wave. The mountains bulge and peak in the distance like the swells of a rolling sea.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of America’s great scenic drives. It’s well worth the diversion from more heavily traveled routes to experience it.
Previous Stop on the Odyssey:Â Mount Airy, NC
Next Stop on the Odyssey: Leesburg, VA
My American Odyssey Route Map
Image credits
All images by Malcolm Logan, except
Blue Ridge tunnel, Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Flowers by the Blue Ridge Parkway, Andrew James on Unsplash
Curving bridge, Ashley Knedler on Unsplash
