It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a beautiful stretch of road for a Sunday drive or if the journey is the destination, Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway should be on your fall to-do list.
SKYLINE DRIVE
At 105 miles long, Skyline Drive is the main drag through the nearly 200,000-acre Shenandoah National Park. There are four entry points: Front Royal, Thornton Gap, Swift Run Gap, and Rockfish Gap.
Need to Know:
- $25 entry fee (fee waived on select dates)
- 35 mph speed limit
- 75 overlooks
- Marys Rock Tunnel (milepost 32.4) clearance is 12’8″
- Inclement weather may close the Drive. Call 540-999-3500 for status.
- Accommodations and Dining: Skyland (milepost 41.7) and Big Meadows Lodge (milepost 51)
- Tag your photos with #FindYourPark and #LOVEVA to share your experience.
Interested in making it a mini vacation? Check out this Leaf Peeping on Skyline Drive getaway suggestion!
Two Mile Run Overlook (milepost 76.2)
Marys Rock Tunnel (milepost 32.4)
Skyland lodge (milepost 41.7) photo credit: Jeff Greenough
Skyline Drive (near milepost 5). Photo Credit: Cameron Davidson
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
From Rockfish Gap on Afton Mountain you can access both Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. From that point, the Parkway meanders 469 miles to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.
Access the Parkway from a number of points on either side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Key communities include Waynesboro (milepost 0), Nelson County, Buena Vista (milepost 46), Buchanan (milepost 86), Roanoke (milepost 120), Floyd (milepost 160), Meadows of Dan (milepost 176), and Fancy Gap (milepost 200).
Need to Know:
- No entry fee
- 45 mph speed limit
- Key overlooks: Greenstone (milepost 8.8), Roanoke River (milepost 114.9), Roanoke Valley (milepost 129.6), Devils Backbone (milepost 144), Pine Spur (milepost 144.8), and Groundhog Mountain (milepost 188.8)
- Bluff Mountain Tunnel (milepost 53.1) clearance is 13’7″
- Inclement weather may close the Parkway. Call 828-298-039 or check the real-time closure map for status.
- Accommodations and Dining: Peaks of Otter Lodge (milepost 86), Mabry Mill (dining only; milepost 176.2)
- MAP
- Tag your photos with #BlueRidgeParkway and #LOVEVA to share your experience.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is also excellent for a mini vacation. Try out this 3-day guide to Floyd or perhaps Getaway to the Star City of the South.
Blue Ridge Parkway (near milepost 96)
Thunder Ridge Overlook (milepost 74.7, part of a loop trail, not a roadside overlook)
Peaks of Otter Lodge
I live in Charlottesville, Va. I travel these roads everyday. I can’t start to tell you what season is my favorite! Spring, beautiful Dogwoods and Red buds start the seasons off. Summer, the smell of fresh cut grass, beautiful flowers scattered through the forest and near the lakes! Fall, the beautiful painted canvas of colors that God has made! Winter, the mountain tops glistening with a fresh snow. Let’s not forget All the wonderful animals that roam these mountains. the hills that come alive with winding grapevines and orchards. GOD knew exactly what to put on these mountains that we call the Blue Ridge!
AMEN!
A beautiful place
Here is a paradise!
Gorgeous pictures.
For 35 yrs. childhood friends meet there every fall. We will see you soon.
Enjoyed this so much want to share God ‘s gift. Our gourgeour, breath taking earth. Let’s respect and pray the beautiful planet isn’t destroyed. Thank you and Praise you God.
How can i got information how to go there dirreccions please
Used to love taking a Fall drive here! Just go on a weekday if at all possible and watch out for the idiots in the Lexus, Audi or Prius behind you honking for you to exceed the speed limit! .. “The Hell with trying to enjoy the scenery!!” I never have understood why people PAY to drive through the park just to see how fast they can get through it!!! LOL! Kind of reminds me of “Trying” to look at the Bluebonnets in Texas! That’s down-right dangerous today!!
Jim, I have a Prius & I swear it wasn’t me honking at you!! I agree it is rude for people to do that. Obviously they don’t know how to enjoy nature. I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Most Virginians are not like that!!!
My favorite is the “earth aware” visitors who pull up to the overlooks, stay in their cars, and leave the motor running for long periods of time … destroying the peaceful silence of nature and fouling the air. Real nice.
Go on a week day. Definitely. If you’re not “off” on a week day … TAKE off. It’s worth it!
Lovely scenes, and would like to visit….