Parkway Highlights

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a designated All- American Road

Click here to read an article about Shopping the Blue Ridge Parkway, from the FHWA's National Scenic Byways Program.

Highlights

The Parkway follows the Appalachian Mountain chain and provides seemingly endless views of many parallel ranges connected by cross ranges and scattered hills. From Shenandoah National Park the Parkway follows the Blue Ridge, eastern rampart of the Appalachians, for 355 miles. Then, for the remaining 114 miles, it skirts the southern end of the massive Black Mountains, named for the dark green spruce and fir that cover them, weaves through the Craggies, the Pisgahs, the Balsams, and ends in the Great Smokies.

Wildlife is a delight to see along the Parkway. When the sun is high, groundhogs sit erect, and chipmunks and squirrels chitter and chatter. At night, skunks, foxes, oppossums, and raccoons may be seen along the roadsides. Look for white-tailed deer and the shy black bear in the early morning or evening. Salamanders — less conspicuous but often more colorful — thrive in this moisturerich environment. More than 100 bird species can be seen during the spring migration season.

Trees are everywhere. In spring, tuliptrees, serviceberry, and others produce showy blooms. In fall, leaves burst into color. Dogwood, sourwood, and blackgum turn deep red.

Tuliptree and birches turn yellow, sassafras a vivid orange, and red maples add a multicolored brilliance. Mountain ash berries turn bright red and provide food for wintering birds. Finally oaks put on a dash of russet and maroon. Evergreens include Virginia pine, white pine, hemlock, spruce, and fir.

Flowering shrubs put on a springtime show that rivals the display of trees in fall. Because of the range in elevation, from 649 to 6,047 feet, peak blooming occurs at different times and places — somewhat earlier in Virginia than in North Carolina. Flame azalea is at its best south of Roanoke to Rocky Knob about mid-May and in the high mountains west of Asheville about mid-June. Mountain laurel blooms along Otter Creek in mid-May and elsewhere on the Parkway in the first two weeks of June. Dense thickets of catawba rhododendron turn purple north of Peaks of Otter to Onion Mountain and along the bluffs of Doughton Park the first week of June and in Craggy Gardens and through the Balsams after mid-June. Various wildflowers begin to bloom in April and continue through fall.

The diverse history and culture of the southern Appalachian Mountains are described at many overlooks and facilities along the Parkway, including Humpback Rocks, Peaks of Otter, Mabry Mill, Brinegar Cabin, Northwest Trading Post, and the Parkway Craft Center at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. In the Asheville area, stop at the Folk Art Center for craft demonstrations and for general Parkway information and trip planning