Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina Section)
The American Blue Ridge Parkway, shepherded by the US National Park Service, is probably the most famous road in current use in the world. Flirting with the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains it leads the motorist in a southwesterly direction from Virginia to its termination West of Waynesville and Maggie Valley NC in the Great Smoky Mountains. And it is quite a road. There is more to see, on and near the Parkway, than on any other strip of pavement. From the heights of Grandfather Mountain (Milepost 305 - Linville) to the majesty of the Biltmore Estate (House and Gardens) in the valley of the French Broad River (Milepost 389 - Asheville) and all kinds of sights before, after and in-between, driving the Parkway is an entire vacation in itself.
In June, when the Rhododendrons are in bloom, we recommend the detour to Roan Mountain (At Milepost 331, take NC-226 through Spruce Pine to Bakersville, then north on NC-261. Roan Mtn is on the left just before you cross the Tennessee border. - Directions for alternate route - ) Also, best in the spring - but because of plentiful water and not blooming flowers - is the climactic fury of Linville Falls (milepoint 316.3). There are so many well marked ways to access the Parkway that we needn't list them here.
For the last word on parkway closures (recommended), please contact the Blue Ridge Parkway Association, P.O. Box 453, Asheville, NC 28802. Phone 828-298-0398.
More Information: http://www.nps.gov/blri/