Ultimate Fall Foliage Road Trip: Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

Skyline Drive

Stretching 105 miles through the nearly 200,000-acre Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive offers breathtaking views. Access it via four entry points: Front Royal, Thornton Gap, Swift Run Gap, and Rockfish Gap.

Need to Know:

$30 per vehicle entrance fee (valid for 7 days; check nps.gov for free entry dates)

35 mph speed limit

75 scenic overlooks

Mary's Rock Tunnel (milepost 32.4) clearance: 12'8"

Call 540-999-3500 for road status during inclement weather

Lodging and dining: Skyland (milepost 41.7) and Big Meadows (milepost 51)

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Ultimate Fall Foliage Road Trip: Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

Blue Ridge Parkway

Connect seamlessly from Rockfish Gap at Afton Mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which winds 469 miles southward to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

Enter from key communities along the route: Waynesboro (milepost 0), Nelson County, Buena Vista (milepost 46), Buchanan (milepost 86), Roanoke (milepost 120), Floyd (milepost 160), Meadows of Dan (milepost 176), and Fancy Gap (milepost 200).

Need to Know:

No entrance fee

45 mph speed limit

Must-see overlooks: Greenstone (milepost 8.8), Roanoke River (milepost 114.9), Roanoke Valley (milepost 129.6), Devils Backbone (milepost 144), Pine Spur (milepost 144.8), Groundhog Mountain (milepost 188.8)

Bluff Mountain Tunnel (milepost 53.1) clearance: 13'7"

Call 828-298-0398 or check the real-time closure map for weather updates

Lodging and dining: Peaks of Otter Lodge (milepost 86), Mabry Mill (dining; milepost 176.2)

Interactive map

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