About This Trip
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge through Virginia and North Carolina, from Shenandoah National Park in the north to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the south. In all but four years since 1946 it has drawn more visitors than any other National Park System site, and there is no entrance fee. Work began in 1935 and the road was finished in 1987. This trip follows it from end to end with stops in Roanoke and Asheville, about 526 miles and 14 hours of driving as routed.
Mileposts count up from zero at Rockfish Gap, near Waynesboro, where Skyline Drive ends. In Virginia the parkway passes Roanoke and Mabry Mill, the early-1900s mill near Meadows of Dan at milepost 176. In North Carolina it swings around the south side of Grandfather Mountain on the Linn Cove Viaduct, one of the last major pieces of the road to be built, and reaches its highest point, 6,053 feet on Richland Balsam near Mount Pisgah. It ends at US 441 on the edge of the Smokies near Cherokee.
Hurricane Helene closed the entire parkway in September 2024. As of early November 2026 the National Park Service still lists milepost 344.2 to 355.3, from NC 80 to Mount Mitchell State Park, as closed, so the route currently leaves the parkway south of Grandfather Mountain and rejoins it at Asheville. There is also a short detour at the James River Bridge in Virginia. Check the NPS road status page before you go.
Autumn color starts on the high peaks in late September and works down to the valleys by late October. The parkway is not maintained in winter, and the highest sections and the tunnels are often closed from late fall into spring.
Stops
Waynesboro, VA — Parkway Northern Terminus
Waynesboro sits within five miles of the parkway's northern end at Rockfish Gap, where Skyline Drive comes south out of Shenandoah National Park and the parkway's mileposts begin at zero.
Roanoke, VA
Virginia's most populous city west of Richmond, and a planned overnight. The parkway skirts the city, with a spur road up Mill Mountain to the 88.5-foot Roanoke Star, lit at night and the source of the city's nickname, Star City of the South. Downtown has the Taubman Museum of Art and the city's farmers' market.
Mabry Mill, VA
At milepost 176 near Meadows of Dan, Ed and Lizzy Mabry ran a gristmill, a sawmill and a blacksmith shop for some thirty years from the wooden mill he began building in 1903. In summer and fall the National Park Service shows the old trades there, and you can watch the smith at work.
Linn Cove Viaduct, NC
The Linn Cove Viaduct carries the parkway 1,243 feet around the flank of Grandfather Mountain on 153 concrete segments. Finished in 1983, it was built out from its south end so that heavy equipment stayed off the mountainside. The visitor center at the viaduct is temporarily closed. Grandfather Mountain itself, a state park and nonprofit attraction near Linville, is known for the Mile High Swinging Bridge, built in 1952 between two of its rocky peaks.
Asheville, NC
The parkway's second planned overnight, and the home of its headquarters. Asheville's best-known sight is the Biltmore Estate, built for George Vanderbilt between 1889 and 1895; by floor area it is still the biggest private home in the country, and the parkway crosses its land.
Cherokee, NC — Southern Terminus
The parkway ends at US 441 where Great Smoky Mountains National Park meets the Qualla Boundary, the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; the town of Cherokee is the tribe's capital. The Museum of the Cherokee People, founded in 1948, is in town, and US 441 continues north through the park as Newfound Gap Road, crossing into Tennessee at Newfound Gap, 5,048 feet up.
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Where to Stay
2 suggested overnight stops along the way, plus lodging at the start and finish of the route.
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Scenic byways on this drive
More places to stop and photos on each road's own page.