runeatcamp wrote:
Hello all,
I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Shenandoah National Park, down the Blue Ridge Parkway, and into the Great Smoky Mountains. Ideally I'd like to enter Shenandoah in Front Royal, traverse Skyline Drive down to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and take BRP to the Smokies, camping along the way.
I'm flexible on season, length of trip, and miles travelled per day. I'm flexible on hookups or no hookups. We like hiking and to see wildlife, and we like cultural/historical stops and museums too.
I'm aware that my fifth wheel won't clear three of the BRP bridges, and that BRP ends in Cherokee. I'd consider getting off BRP in Asheville and taking the camper on I-40 to Gatlinburg to avoid those bridges. In that case, I'd finish BRP with the truck at a later time.
A few questions, in no particular order:
If it were you, how would you structure this trip? I would start exactly as you stated, at Front Royal, Skyline Dr. is 105 mi long, with a speed limit of 35 mph.
How long you spend depends on what you want to see? do, and how much hiking you want to do, there are about 500 mi of trails on Skyline dr.
I would absolutely stay in the Park, we have stayed at Big Meadows CG, F loop has large pullthrough site, lots of shade, like most Fed parks, there are no hookups, but a nice dump station and water fill.
There is also a No generator area, ( I don't remember which loop).
We have also stayed at Loft Mtn CG, great CG especially A loop, pullthroughs mostly level, shade, & great views.
We usually don't visit the towns off the Park, except to shop & resupply.
We have only done the Northern end of BRP, which I don't find as nice as Skyline Dr., many of the overlooks are grown up, completely blocking views in some places.
We have Verizon, and find service to be spotty, at least on the northern end. We don't worry about data, except in a CG, we've never camped on BRP, but, there is a gorgeous little National Forest CG just off the BRP, Sherando Lake, with elect hookup, in B & C loops, and a dump station & water fill, along with 2 small lakes for swimming & fishing, C loop takes reservations, but is hard to get a site at times.How long would you spend in each national park, and how long traversing the parkway?
Would you stay in national park campgrounds, or do you recommend private campgrounds, and why?
Would you get on and off the parkway to visit towns along the way?
What are your experiences with Verizon cell and data service along the Blue Ridge Parkway? I figure it'll be zero in the Smokies and spotty at best in Shenandoah. I'd love to just shut my phone off, but telecommuting gives us the flexibility to take the trip.
Thanks for any info you can provide! I'm thinking a lot about the trip and looking to talk to other people who've done similar.
