Post by caddywompus on Aug 26, 2015 8:33:38 GMT -5
I am thinking of traveling the whole Blue Ridge Parkway this fall, to see the leaves changing. Has anyone done this? Is it possible to do in a week? We have done a small part of it once, and there were SO MANY lookout points along the way- it took a long time to go only ~50 miles. It looks like it's about 500 miles long. I think we would travel a part (~ 100 miles?) each day, then spend the night at a nearby hotel. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to eat/stay, and any "don't miss" stops along the way?
Post by Wanderista on Aug 27, 2015 17:06:32 GMT -5
I have never driven the whole thing but I have been on various stretches of it and so I know of various little places in a few sections. I agree that the area around Blowing Rock is great. I've spent a lot of time around the Shenandoah Valley and I can say that you have a lot of options there as far as where to stop depending on what you want to do.
There's a diner in New Market, VA - I had to look it up, it's called Southern Kitchen - that I remember being pretty good if you like a diner. The dessert pie there was fantastic. I still remember the peanut butter pie. It is very downhome. If you are looking for something more upscale, there's a lot of fine dining around Charlottesville, Staunton and "the Valley". There are also some resorts and, of course, wineries.
I have also been further down around Lynchburg, Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake. (Yes, it was heart-breaking to hear about the news there). There's a little town called Amherst that has a couple of nice restaurants, particularly The Briar Patch. Lynchburg has a surprisingly nice cafe called The White Hart (not open on Sundays) and a few decent restaurants near the waterfront. Waterstone Pizza is actually quite good. The Depot Grille is not bad and has an interesting industrial loft style. The only thing I remember about Roanoke is an art museum that had a Rembrandt exhibition at the time.
Beyond that, I've just been down in NC between Boone and Blowing Rock and the views were spectacular. I saw Grandfather Mountain from a distance. I was actually staying in a different part of NC though so my big memory in terms of food was Lexington BBQ which was awesome.
Post by caddywompus on Aug 27, 2015 20:47:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions. We will be doing most of our traveling on weekdays, so hopefully will miss lots of the crowds. Grandfather Mtn is definitely on our list. I'll check out the Southern Kitchen, as well as the Briar Patch and other places mentioned. We like going to vineyards, so I'll look up Veritas Vineyards! We also like breweries, and I saw there's a Blue Mountain Brewery not far from the start of the Parkway, has anyone heard of it/been there? Thanks again- and still open for more suggestions!
Post by RoxMonster on Aug 30, 2015 10:30:33 GMT -5
Have only done a tiny portion of it (starting near the TN/NC line on our Smoky Mtn trip). But one rec I have for that portion of the drive is to stop at Waterrock Knob. There are some nice picnic tables there and we did a picnic lunch. The view was outstanding--you could see for miles. Then, there is a hike to the top of Waterrock Knob right off the parking lot. Pretty strenuous, but a gorgeous hike.