America's favorite scenic drive — 469 miles along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. No commercial vehicles, no billboards, no stoplights. Just blue-hazed ridgelines and the oldest mountains on the continent.

Stops on This Tour (20)

1. 1
   Rockfish Gap — Mile 0 The Parkway begins where Shenandoah National Park ends. The Blue Ridge stretches south before you, the Shenandoah Valley drops away to the west.
2. 2
   Humpback Rocks — Milepost 5.8 A recreated 1890s mountain farmstead sits trailside. The half-mile climb to Humpback Rocks rewards with 360-degree views of the Blue Ridge.
3. 3
   James River — Milepost 63.6 The Parkway crosses Virginia's largest river. The Kanawha Canal and railroad trace the same water gap through the mountains.
4. 4
   Peaks of Otter — Milepost 86 Three peaks — Sharp Top, Flat Top, and Harkening Hill — frame Abbott Lake. Thomas Jefferson once described these peaks as one of Virginia's greatest views.
5. 5
   Roanoke Mountain — Milepost 120 The largest city along the Parkway lies below. The Mill Mountain Star — the world's largest freestanding illuminated man-made star — glows above the valley at night.
6. 6
   Mabry Mill — Milepost 176.1 The most photographed spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This 1910 gristmill and blacksmith shop reflects perfectly in its millpond.
7. 7
   Blue Ridge Music Center — Milepost 213 Where old-time Appalachian music comes alive. Banjos, fiddles, and mountain ballads echo through these hills, part of a musical tradition stretching back centuries.
8. 8
   Cumberland Knob — Milepost 217.5 Construction began here on September 11, 1935, during the Great Depression. Crossing into North Carolina, the mountains grow wilder.
9. 9
   Doughton Park — Milepost 241 A remote stretch of backcountry meadows and deep coves. Basin Cove is one of the most isolated valleys in the eastern United States.
10. 10
    Moses H. Cone Memorial Park — Milepost 294 The denim king's country estate — a 3,500-acre playground of carriage trails, apple orchards, and the Southern Highland Craft Guild shop in the manor house.
11. 11
    Linn Cove Viaduct — Milepost 304 An engineering marvel — 1,243 feet of segmental bridge hugging the face of Grandfather Mountain without touching the fragile slopes below. The last section of the Parkway to be completed.
12. 12
    Linville Falls — Milepost 316.4 The Linville River drops over a series of cascades into the deepest gorge in the eastern United States — 2,000 feet deep and 12 miles long.
13. 13
    Crabtree Falls — Milepost 339.5 A 70-foot waterfall tucked in a dense cove forest. The trail descends through rhododendron tunnels that bloom spectacularly in June.
14. 14
    Mount Mitchell — Milepost 355.4 At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. The observation tower offers views across wave after wave of blue ridgelines.
15. 15
    Craggy Gardens — Milepost 364 In mid-June, the summit balds erupt in wild rhododendron blooms — a purple carpet at 5,500 feet with views to Mount Mitchell and beyond.
16. 16
    Folk Art Center — Milepost 382 The Southern Highland Craft Guild showcases Appalachian arts — quilts, pottery, woodwork, and basket-weaving traditions spanning generations.
17. 17
    Mount Pisgah — Milepost 408.6 Named by a homesick Scotsman who saw it as the biblical peak from which Moses viewed the Promised Land. The Pisgah Inn perches on the ridgeline.
18. 18
    Graveyard Fields — Milepost 418.8 A high-altitude bog with two waterfalls and blueberry bushes. The name comes from tree stumps left by a massive 1925 fire that resembled headstones.
19. 19
    Richland Balsam — Milepost 431 The highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 6,053 feet. Fraser fir and red spruce create a boreal landscape more reminiscent of Maine than North Carolina.
20. 20
    Waterrock Knob — Milepost 451.2 A short steep trail leads to a panoramic summit view of the Great Smokies, the last major overlook before the Parkway ends at Cherokee.

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