Travel tips for BlueRidge Parkway

[punji]

Now finalizing a July trip from beginning to end of BlueRidge Parkway -- Cherokee NC to Waynesboro VA and back. The list of gotta-dos and gotta-sees seems a little thin despite all the official guides, etc. Any of you veteran mountain ryders have any suggestions? Two neophyte RT-Ryders are in the convoy and I'd like to melt their eyeballs and overwhelm their senses. Local knowledge is ALWAYS superior to Chamber of Commerce stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated. This post also appears in the general discussion thread.

Bless you, my friends...


punji

[WingmanRT]

Now finalizing a July trip from beginning to end of BlueRidge Parkway -- Cherokee NC to Waynesboro VA and back. The list of gotta-dos and gotta-sees seems a little thin despite all the official guides, etc. Any of you veteran mountain ryders have any suggestions? Two neophyte RT-Ryders are in the convoy and I'd like to melt their eyeballs and overwhelm their senses. Local knowledge is ALWAYS superior to Chamber of Commerce stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated. This post also appears in the general discussion thread.

It's 45 mph all the way and a gorgeous ryde. Get gas when you can (you will have to get off the parkway to do it.) There are no restaurants or businesses on the parkway really. Just pull over to a lot of Overlooks and take pictures. The hard part is keeping your eyes on the road with all the great vistas to look at. Take you time and enjoy it, except for the viaduct, there are no real "attractions" other than lots of beautiful scenery. Try for lunch in Blowing Rock. Have fun with it and take your time. It's a great ride.

[rc51ny]

I rode it a couple of years ago on my Hayabusa. Yes-it's a great ride, but after a couple of hours of that speed limit, I had to find a different route. I hope you enjoy!

[Ltownblue]

There are restaurants off the Parkway - namely at the Pisgah Inn at Mt Pisgah and at Little Switzerland (Hwy 226A). Nice restaurants there. Great (and I mean great) twisty roads that you should try that intersect with the BRP are Hwy 215 (near the Devil's Courthouse) and Hwy 276 (just about 12 miles north of 215). Both of these roads lead you to Bethel if you go north (great BBQ restaurant there and, of course, gas ). If you take 276 south you will pass by Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock (great place to slide down the creek and cool off). Two other great twisties are Hwy 80 (near mile marker 344 off the BRP - go toward Marion) and Hwy 226A at mile marker 331 in Little Switzerland. Hwy 181 near Linville will take you down to Morganton - great twisty road with some extra lane stretches to go around the cagers. Have a safe and fun trip!

[Pennyrick]

Now finalizing a July trip from beginning to end of BlueRidge Parkway -- Cherokee NC to Waynesboro VA and back. The list of gotta-dos and gotta-sees seems a little thin despite all the official guides, etc. Any of you veteran mountain ryders have any suggestions? Two neophyte RT-Ryders are in the convoy and I'd like to melt their eyeballs and overwhelm their senses. Local knowledge is ALWAYS superior to Chamber of Commerce stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated. This post also appears in the general discussion thread.

Bless you, my friends...


punji

Just returned after seven days running top to bottom. 1,600 miles in all. I made the biggest error of planning too many miles each day. The 45 mph speed limit (35 in some places), the lack of convenient gas and food (meaning you have to drive several miles off the parkway) and the scenic overlooks means your actual average speed may be in the 20-25 miles per hour range. At that rate 250 miles a day just wore us out!! To do it correctly you need to plan on 150 miles a day or you need to bypass some of the parkway by jumping off on I 40 or Highway 221 to make up some time.