Our Blue Ridge Parkway Travel Experience

Our family recently drove along the All-American Road: the Blue Ridge Parkway. As expected, the scenery was breathtaking. The Parkway offered much more than spectacular views to our family. The Blue Ridge Parkway has many stopping points along the way. It's strange to write that a car trip offered so much exercise but we did a lot of hiking. It was the ultimate exploration vacation, with everything from history to adventure to quiet reflection throughout the trip.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is so vast, stretching north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and south to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, that almost anyone can find something interesting to do along the way. We could not drive the entire length of the Parkway in this one trip so we focused on the North Carolina expanse.

We started where the Blue Ridge Parkway began at Cumberland Knob. This is where the 75th Anniversary celebration kickoff will be in 2010. We got there a year early! After reading so much about this place's history, we expected more than the humble sign pointing to the wooded parking and picnic area. Once parked and out of the car, we easily found the markers which gave a little history about this spot where workers began constructing the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The ranger's office was closed but there were some handy trail maps available. The trails were easy to follow. The ground glittered with mica. It was a peaceful, pleasant place to relax.

From Cumberland Knob, we drove to the nearby Fox Hunter's Paradise. We walked down a short trail to a stone bordered overlook. The wind and the views made this a lovely place to stay a while. It's easy to understand why hunters of chose this spot so many years ago.

It wasn't all scenic views that day. We thoroughly enjoyed touring Brinegar Cabin near the 240 mile marker. A family home until the 1930s, today it's a picturesque reminder of a different era. A friendly ranger was there to show us how the family made shoes and wove cloth. Our kids tromped from the outdoor pantry to the spring house while we tried to imagine a lifestyle so different from our own.

The next day, it was time to explore the Grandfather Mountain area. There's an attraction for Grandfather Mountain which offers a mile-high swinging bridge. We skipped it in favor of a chance to explore the Linn Cove Viaduct. This was the last part of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed in 1987. An engineering feat, this bridge on the side of the mountain is one of the most photographed spots along the Parkway.

We started at the visitor center with a video about the making of the Viaduct. Then it was off to explore the trail that winds underneath and around it. We would not want to navigate this trail during a rainstorm - even on a sunny day, we scrambled over wet rocks and mud. This trail led to a whole other world that can't be seen from the road. We felt awe as we passed through boulders which towered over us and we marveled at tree roots that grew around these huge rocks to reach the ground. One moment, it felt like we were in a cave but the trail would turn and we would be in sunshine again. We left with a feeling of gratitude that this amazing spot was not destroyed to make a place for the road.

We took a trip to Linville Falls later that day. It was the first place we encountered real crowds. While the Falls are impressive, the constant stream of people coming and going made it hectic. Despite signs warning people to stay out of the water, people climbed out on rocks and threw money in like the Linville River is a giant wishing well. We missed the serenity we had experienced in other places along the Parkway.

We found that serenity the next day when we left the Parkway to visit Mount Mitchell State Park. The entrance is off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 355. Visitors need to make sure their vehicle can make the climb because Mount Mitchell, at 6,684 feet, is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. We hiked up to the observation deck which features signs naming the mountain points in every direction. The museum in the visitor's center is nice too.

However, the best part for us was the trail through the woods. This special area is often compared to Canada because of the plants and animals which can be found here. It's literally a cool place - we were there on the first day of summer and the temperature was around 85 degrees in the sun. In the woods, it was much cooler. We felt like we had stepped into a fairy world of towering rocks and fir trees. We often stopped on the trail to soak in the quiet tranquility which permeated the forest.

After our hike, we enjoyed a mile-high picnic with mountain view. We were the only family in the eating area but the local wildlife took a keen interest in us. We kept debating if the little animals peaking at us were squirrels or chipmunks. Birds landed in nearby trees with no apparent fear of us. That simple picnic was a highlight of our trip.

That's something to consider when planning a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway and surrounding areas. It's the moments away from the more crowded places which provide the best time to be together as a family. It helps to plan meal times during off hours. Several times, we had the entire picnic area to ourselves. Our children ran the whole length of the Crabtree Meadows picnic area without another person in sight. A stop at Green Knob overlook became an extended chance to study the rocks and flowers.

On the other hand, while we liked the Folk Arts Center and the falls at Graveyard Fields, these places were so busy that we felt rushed. The park headquarters near Asheville offered a movie, exhibits and a chance to talk with rangers. This was a welcome opportunity because the biggest problem we had was finding information about the parkway. Signs informed us which direction we were traveling. However, there was little to tell us what we would find at any stop. When there was traffic behind us, we had to make an abrupt decision whether to turn in or not. We finally started pulling into all the overlooks along the way! We tried to plan our route before even starting the car.

Even with planning, we still were surprised by several detours throughout the trip. We missed Jeffress Park and Craggy Gardens because of these jaunts off the Parkway. While the detours were clearly marked, we were never told why we had to exit the Blue Ridge Parkway. A hotel clerk said parts of the Parkway were closed while the Park Service prepped things for the upcoming 75th anniversary. A ranger told us there had been some rock slide damage to the road which caused one of the detours. Whatever the reasons, we soon realized a lot of the trip would have to be planned as we go because the road wasn't always open.

Everywhere we went along the parkway, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The only downside came from the people who defaced so many signs with "I was here!" or "He loves me!" declarations . It was a blight we discovered at nearly every stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's incredibly disrespectful.

It's also people who spoiled our hikes to waterfalls. Some of these spots must be local swimming holes but nothing in any brochure we read told us to expect it. In fact, we usually read about how the rocks are being eroded and the water polluted plus there are no lifeguards or other safety measures for people who jump in the water. It looked like dangerous fun but it was disappointing to have the natural beauty destroyed by squealing swimmers trying to climb the waterfall, beach towels hanging on trees, ice chests and flip-flops piled on the rocks. We felt like we were crashing a swim party. It was incongruous to the rest of our Blue Ridge Parkway experience.

Still, this is a trip we would recommend to everyone who appreciates nature. We will probably do it again, perhaps visiting the Virginia side of the Blue Ridge Parkway next. Then again, we still didn't get to everything we wanted to do in North Carolina. The highest point on the Parkway, at 6,074 feet, can be found there near the 430 mile marker in North Carolina. It's almost a tradition to stop there and take a picture by the sign. The view, naturally, is stunning.

Here's what we'll keep in mind for future trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway:

Plan the major stops ahead of time but also prepare to be flexible. There are Web sites such as http://www.blueridgeparkway75.org and http://www.blueridgeparkway.org plus anyone can request brochures from a variety of travel sites. We found a map/guide simply titled "Blue Ridge Parkway" and published by the National Parks Service (http://www.nps.gov/blri) to be the most helpful for a quick reference. In fact, having Internet service and links to informative Web sites proved to be the most useful tool when it was available. We were usually only able to get service at very high points or at our hotel at night.

Decide how much of the Parkway to cover in one trip. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long plus there are national parks on both sides and the Cherokee Reservation on the south end. Almost every major stopping point offers a plethora of activities just off of the Parkway. It would be easy to get overwhelmed by the choices.

Be aware of what will be free and what will cost money. We opted for the free parks on this trip and we still felt like we had plenty to do every day. However, there are museums, caverns, mills, railroad trains and local cuisine restaurants along the way. There's horse back riding and white water rafting. Leave time for some quiet moments to enjoy the scenery.

To really see the waterfalls, consider going in late fall or winter when it will probably be too cold to swim! Of course, winter weather might make some trails harder to navigate. Also, parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway are closed in winter months so check the roadway status before leaving on the trip.

There are few stores along the Blue Ridge Parkway so make sure the car is packed with necessary supplies. (Some camp stores run by the Park Service can be found along the way. For anything else, an exit off the Parkway is necessary.) We needed water, gum to chew as the elevations changed, bug spray for hiking the trails and sunscreen. Of course, a full tank of gas is necessary at the start of each day. Once we began exploring, we didn't want to have to go off course to find a gas station.

Knowing where the restrooms can be found is essential for traveling with kids. Picnic areas and visitor centers can be counted on to provide "comfort stations" as many signs phrased it.

We used a digital camera because we knew we would take a lot of pictures. Regular or digital, make sure there is plenty of film (or memory) for the camera. For those who would rather not use their time taking pictures, the visitor centers sell postcards, books and dvds depicting the sights.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a trip worth making at least once to see the views or imagine the earlier days of the United States. While the valleys and trails are active, there's a stillness that comes with the higher windswept mountain views. The best advice for appreciating the Parkway experience comes from a motorcycle t-shirt spotted in one of the gift shops: "Feel the Silence."