 Blue Ridge Parkway - incorporating into road trip
Brad J. <instrumentality@m> wrote in message
> In early-to-mid-October, I am planning to drive across the country in
> a somewhat roundabout fashion from New York to Los Angeles. I've been
> trying to figure out what I want to see between Washington, D.C. and
> the southern part of Florida. At this point, I'm trying to figure out
> the nicest route that will take me from D.C. to Savannah, GA with only
> one stop in between, and I want to try and incorporate the Blue Ridge
> Parkway into my route.
>
>
You are going a BIT out of your way, but try this:
Remember that the parkway roughly follows I-81. I-81 runs as much
WEST as it does south.
Take I-66 WEST out of DC and exit at Front Royal and enter Skyline
Drive (Skyline Drive is the northern continuation of the BRP, and
esentually the same kind of road, except that it is in a national
park, and it costs $10 to drive it).
Take Skyline Drive to the south end of the park, where it becomes the
BRP (if you are adverse to paying for Skyline Drive, modify your trip
by taking US 29 SOUTH out of DC to Charlottesville, then I-64 west,
and then entering the BRP at its beginning at Waynesboro).
Continue on BRP south to Fancy Gap, where you can enter I-77. Take
I-77 south to its end at Columbia, SC, then I-26 east to its junction
with I-95.
Another option would be to exit the BRP at Roanoke and take US 220
South (its the new I-73/74 in NC) until it ends as a 4-lane in
Rockingham. Then take US 74 East to NC 38, which becomes SC 38, to
I-95 in the Darlington area.
Still another option, is to continue on the BRP all the way to
Asheville (this is the much more scenic part) and get I-26 at that
point south into South Carolina, or catch I-40 West to Knoxville to
I-75 South and then the Florida's Turnpike (assuming you are going to
the east coast of Florida), or even continue past Asheville on the BRP
and then take US 19 or US 23 south into Georgia, picking up I-75 in
Atlanta.
General BRP advise:
- they are serious about the speed limits.
- watch out for RVs and cars just stopped in the road.
- watch out for wildlife.
- its a non-commercial highway. That means its like a park. The
only, directly on the road, services are the ones provided by the NPS,
and they can be expensive. There is NO signage to direct you to
off-highway services, which are pretty sparce too. Buy gas at EVERY
opertunity, don't let that needle cross 1/2.
- its not a bad idea to pack some food.
- the overnight accomodations run by the concessionaires along the
road are expensive and booked up in fall. Just look at an I-81 and
I-40 map and makes some deals along the way on the main roads. Or
camp out.
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