''Roads are made for journeys,
not destinations.''
Confucius
As we approached Shenandoah National Park, subtle signs surrounded us. What started out as small patches of crimson progressed into bursts of gold. Autumn, with all of its colorful glory, was settling into the Appalachian Mountains. Since we found ourselves in northern Virginia, we decided that our timing was right to take what I had read is ''the ultimate scenic road trip''. While it wasn't the fastest or most direct route south, it would definitely be the most spectacular. We were about to enjoy autumn's brilliant colors as we took the scenic route through Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive and then continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina.
Getting off the main highways and taking the ''roads made for the journey'' has become our favorite way to travel. Skyline Drive flows along the crest of the mountains that make up Shenandoah National Park. The northern terminus is located in Front Royal, Virginia and runs 105 miles through the park to the southern terminus near Waynesboro, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Parkway takes off where Skyline Drive ends and winds through the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina for another 469 miles. When we asked Google Maps to map our route, it tried to direct us off the two scenic byways for a much quicker seven hour trip south that would take us on mostly interstate highways. But we had a week and a half to meander, and the fall colors were starting to ''pop'', so we weren't interested in the ''faster'' option this time around.
Forcing Google to keep us on these two slower, longer, and more scenic roads increased our travel time to 14+ hours for the combined 574 miles ... and gave us a road trip filled with even more ''wow'' around every curve.
The Ad'VAN'tage of Taking the Scenic Route
We realized very quickly that this is the kind of trip that our small Class B camper van was made for. Once on Skyline Drive, we were surrounded by national park beauty ... which meant that there were plenty of places to pull over to enjoy amazing scenery and hikes, but not a lot of other ''services''.
No restaurants? No problem!
Scenic overlooks like this fed our senses
while the food from ''Chris' Diner'' filled our bellies.
Get off this scenic route in order to find a hotel? No way!
National park campgrounds had plenty of reservable as well as first come, first serve campsites that were plenty big for Baby Beest to fit into. The sites were also very quiet, but sometimes the ''deer'' neighbors felt a need to drop by.
Twists, turns, and low, narrow tunnels? No problem for my driver and his van!
During the construction of these two scenic routes, it often became necessary to blast through the mountains. Twenty-seven tunnels like this one made me happy that we are not any taller than our nine and a half feet. And the sharp downhill twists and turns?? My skilled driver assured me that he could handle it ... and downshift he did!
Finding ourselves behind a slow moving vehicle? Well, this might become an issue!
The speed limit along both routes varies between 25 and 45 mph which gave us plenty of opportunities to take in the scenery. But, there were a few times when a very slow moving vehicle in front of us created quite a procession ... and gave us a lesson in patience!
Skyline Drive vs Blue Ridge Parkway ...
Two Similar Roads With Different Personalities
We found Skyline Drive to be a much more ''mellow'' route as it follows the entire length of Shenandoah National Park. In fact, it is the only public roadway through the park. Because it goes through a national park, there is a fee to travel on it ... $30 per car for seven days, or ''free'' with an America the Beautiful annual or senior pass. Perhaps because of the entrance fee or because there are only four access points onto Skyline Drive, we found this route to be very quiet. Because the road almost exclusively runs along the crest of the mountains, views of the colorful Shenandoah Valley below were plentiful.
We also found that there were seemed to be better hiking opportunities with many of the national park trails starting right off of Skyline Drive. In fact, the Appalachian Trail runs practically parallel to the road. Spanning a distance of 105 miles, Skyline Drive can be easily explored in three to four days. Or you can take a little slower pace like the two 75-year-old Appalachian hikers that I talked with. They were close to completing the 101 miles of the trail that runs through the park ... a feat that had taken them six weeks. They were inspiring, but for now, I will have to be happy with the three or four miles that we did.
The Blue Ridge Parkway, by contrast, seemed busier and more commercialized. Although it is managed by the National Park Service and often borders National Forest Service property, there are also many private businesses along the parkway. As a result of this collaboration between national, local, and private entities, there seemed to be a greater variety of scenery and services. Restaurants and lodges dotted the sides of the road, and larger cities were more easily accessed by taking one of the many exits off the parkway. The hiking trails, however, didn't seem quite as scenic as the ones along Skyline Drive and were quite a bit more crowded ... especially during this prime ''color'' season.
Some of the most photographed sites in America lie along the Blue Ridge Parkway, including ...
Mabry Mill,
Linville Falls,
and Linn Cove Viaduct.
And since we were so close ...
We couldn't pass up another visit to Asheville
We once again stayed at one of our favorite campgrounds, Lake Powhatan with its colorful hiking trails wrapping around the ''reflective'' lake.
A city that claims to have the second greatest number of craft breweries per capita (Portland, Maine is #1) is always worth a stop. We found a new favorite at 12 Bones Brewing and BBQ. They skillfully combined amazing southern barbecue with a craft beer that suited my dark, malty as well as Doug's IPA tastes.
And some of our old favorites are always worth a second visit!
''Now shall I walk or shall I ride?
'Ride', Pleasure said.
'Walk', Joy replied.''
William Henry Davies
I really liked this plaque that was on one of the many overlooks that we stopped at because ... whether riding or walking through the Blue Ridge Mountains, it seemed like pleasure and joy were always right there with us.
Such pleasure to take in the views that continued to unfold as we drove down the road,
and stretched out even further when we stopped at one of the many overlooks.
And joy abounded during the many hikes that led ...
down to waterfalls,
through abandoned train tunnels,
over huge boulders,
and across cow pastures.
Are you sure we are on the right trail???
Of course, the rewards are always ...
spectacular!
There were so many beautiful sights around every curve of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway ... from endless mountain views to an impromptu bluegrass concert at one of the campgrounds.
As I sat and listened to the rapid banjo plucking and watched the sun set behind the Blue Ridge Mountains, I realized that Confucius was right ...
''Roads are made for journeys,
not destinations.''
