United States to United States
Skyline Drive into the Blue Ridge Parkway, 1000 km of ridge top tarmac with no lorries on it.
Direct
795 km
494 mi
Scenic route
1010 km
627.6 mi
Days
4
about 8.4 hr direct
Tolls
£20
one way, per car
The drive
The interstate version of this drive takes eight hours and gives you nothing. The ridge version links Skyline Drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway and runs almost the whole way on roads built purely for the view.
Speed limits are low, 35 mph on Skyline Drive and 45 mph on the Parkway, so plan on covering less ground than the map suggests. That is the point of it.
Four days lets you stop at Mabry Mill, Linville Gorge, Grandfather Mountain and Craggy Gardens without rushing the last hour into Asheville.
Mid October for colour, late May for rhododendron and empty overlooks.
Worth the detour
Where to break the drive
Luray
Caverns nearby and an easy first night off Skyline Drive.
Roanoke
Halfway on the Parkway with proper restaurants.
Blowing Rock
Right beside the Linn Cove Viaduct.
Questions
About 795 km, roughly 494 miles, by the most direct route. The scenic version described here runs closer to 1010 km.
Around 8.4 hours of driving on the direct route, which most people split over two days. The scenic route takes 4 days without rushing.
Budget about £20 one way per car in tolls, vignettes and crossings, before fuel and hotels.
Mid October for colour, late May for rhododendron and empty overlooks.
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