North Carolina to Virginia
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkways is the longest rural parkway in the United States. It runs 469 miles, connecting the Great Smoky Mountains in southern North Carolina to Shenandoah National Park in northern Virginia, and stretches across the southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway attracts hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders annually. Many riders consider the Parkway to be among the very best roads in the United States - if not the best. There isn't a highway that snakes and tunnels quite so brilliantly anywhere. The whole way, it's a Kodak moment. No commercial vehicles, no billboards, no stoplights. You'll experience beautiful scenery, numerous overlooks and many travel destinations including the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, Grandfather Mountain in Linville, The Blowing Rock , Mystery Hill, and more. If you want to get the most out of the beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway, you will need to allow four days for this motorcycle road trip.
Need gas? You'd better plan ahead. You have to get off the parkway and sometimes travel ten to twenty miles to find some. This is not as bad as you think as the roads leading to the parkway are usually more radical than the parkway itself. Most of these roads are without posted speed limits. As for the parkway itself, the speed limit is 45mph all the way, and in most cases that's fast enough.
The southern end of the Parkway is part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Waterrock Knob parking area provides an excellent panoramic view. Over the next 450 miles there are, quite incredibly, approximately 250 viewing pullouts.
Some places of interest you might want to detour to are Mt. Mitchell State Park, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi, Linville Falls and Grandfather Mountain. The entrance to Grandfather Mountain is located on US 221, two miles north of Linville, North Carolina, and one mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 305.
One of the most interesting detours on the parkway, is around Grandfather Mountain. It's called the Linn Cove Viaduct. This is a true engineering marvel. It was built connected to the mountain, but it's not actually part of the mountain. It's literally a ride in the sky. It is a very unique experience, to say the least. At Mile 308.3 you can take a short leg-stretch to Flat Rock for the best view of the Mountain and Linville Valley. If you're a waterfall fanatic stop short at Mile 316.3 for a walk to the Linville Falls.
Take the time to stop and explore nearby towns that have existed since the first settlements in America. Great towns to check out are Boone, home to the Mast General Store,Tweetsie Railroad, Daniel Boon Gardens and more. Asheville, where you will find the Biltmore Estate, Ghost Town in the Sky , and lots of other fun things to do. And Maggie Valley, where you can check out the wheels through time museum .
The Parkway through Virginia is quite different than in North Carolina. It peaks, tunneling through the dogwood and hickories, and then rolls gently down through valley farmland. There are many creeks and lakes in the area for summer play, and the Humpback Rocks area at Mile Post 5.8 is a great place to picnic.
As dramatic a start as the Smoky Mountains mist provided for the beginning of your motorcycle road trip, so does the roaring sound of the Crabtree Falls for the ending. A four-day excursion via Blue Ridge Parkway will make you realize that there are really so many beautiful places in the United States. As you think of your journey, it encourages you to explore more of the country's four corners to see its beauty with a motorcycle road trip.
No matter which way you travel, coming to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway can be a let down. If you have time, the continuing 105-mile ride north on Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park is a good way to walk it off. And if you traveled from North to South, there's always the Great Smoky Mountains left to investigate.
Leah Lind
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