Skyline drive info please

[suprz]

I was just surfing the web checking on drives we want to do someday and was looking at Skyline Drive and Shanendoah Valley etc... But I soon found myself with information overload! Basically we want to have a great scenic drive with nice stops overnight. So I'm here asking you veterans for advice, tips etc...

[BillMFl]

I also like Loft Mtn cg. Just don't go on a holiday weekend. I have driven the full length of the Skyline and Blue Ridge. Just don 't be in a hurry. Plan on at least three days. Longer if you want to hike to some of the many water falls along the way. No hookups or showers but they do have bathrooms and fresh water spigot. We used to tent camp the full length every year on our way north/south. Late spring the rhodendrons and azealas and dogwoods are beautiful. Fall is the leaf peeper season. We always camped in the Smokies too and hiked portions of the Appalachin Trail along the way.

[Handbasket]

Skyline Drive I think the speed limit is indeed 35. Most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is 45, except for 'congested areas' where it drops to 35 or even 25.

Jim, "Trying to understand some people is like trying to smell the color nine."

[Handbasket]

Skyline Drive I think the speed limit is indeed 35. Most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is 45, except for 'congested areas' where it drops to 35 or even 25.

Jim, "Trying to understand some people is like trying to smell the color nine."

[Jim_Shoe]

I've driven it in a 'B' and felt more comfortable in the middle of the tunnels. Construction started in 1931 and was one of many WPA projects. Its a beautiful drive. I think the speed limit is reduced to 35 because nobody drives it that fast anyway. Too much to see.
I can remember thinking about the first pioneers that must have walked over those mountains on their way west.

[Handbasket]

Depending on when you're coming down, you may be able to drive the Skyline, and continue on most of the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Asheville, NC. There's one stretch just before Asheville that's closed for repairs, supposed to reopen in mid-May. From Asheville, catch I-26 down out of the mountains and across SC to I-95 into Florida. There are some NPS CG's (none with hookups) on the Parkway, and lots of commercial CG's nearby along the way.

Jim, "Authentic redhead: Keep from direct sunlight."

[bukhrn]

Sorry, finger moved too fast

[bukhrn]

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[bukhrn]

suprz wrote:
Thx for the replies, I figure we would drive from up here (RI) and do skyline drive on our way to the keys.....

I don't know what your schedule is to get to the Keys, but, if you haven't had enough by the time you get to the Southern end of Skyline Drive, you can just continue on & do The Blue Ridge Parkway, it is the same road, just changes names & the BRP is free, it is something like 405 mi long, but the speed limit jumps all the way to 45. :B
Have a Safe & Happy trip.

[suprz]

Thx for the replies, I figure we would drive from up here (RI) and do skyline drive on our way to the keys.....

[bukhrn]

suprz wrote:
I was just surfing the web checking on drives we want to do someday and was looking at Skyline Drive and Shanendoah Valley etc... But I soon found myself with information overload! Basically we want to have a great scenic drive with nice stops overnight. So I'm here asking you veterans for advice, tips etc...

Skyline is a great drive, leisurely (35 mph speed limit) & very scenic, as Doxiemom said, it is 105 mi long, with entrances at each end, In Front Royal, off US 340 at the North end, at the intersection of US 250 & I-64 at the South end, near Waynesboro.
There are 2 other entry/exit points, US 211 at Thorntons Gap, Rt 211 from here is very winding, with a few switchbacks.
Farther to the south, the is entry/exit at US 33, at Swift Run Gap, also very winding & steep.
There are many great hiking trails, ranging from the easy to very hard, at my age we stick to the easy.
There are 4 Campgrounds, on the Skyline, Mathews Arm, which I have never personally stayed at, a little farther south is Big Meadows, which is the largest and has some very nice pull throughs , all in full shade, it has a no generator area as well as a tent area.
Next down the line is Lewis Mtn., the smallest, with the smallest sites, we weren't impressed so just drove through.
Finally, south of Swift Run Gap is Loft Mtn. CG, I fully agree with Hondavalk in that it is the best & my favorite, for an RV, especially of a little larger size, you'll want to be in A loop, sites are a little larger & a lot more level, with nice separation between them.
Depending on time of year it may get hard to get into A loop as they don't take reservation for it.
None of the CG's have hookups.
Check out the website on camping, http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/camping.htm

[Teamfour]

Speed limit is 30 mph so it takes about 3.5 hours without stops. I like to enter Skyline at the Hwy 211 entrance and proceed south.

[Hondavalk]

IMO it gets nicer the further south you go, therefore I like to start at the Northern end and head south. The campgrounds don't have hook-ups but Loft mountain is one of the best

[doxiemom11]

I did a quick check and see that there is a 12'8" clearance at Mary's Rock Tunnel and that RV's are welcome but you may need to use low gear. Speed limit is 35 mph. Looks like a nice drive 105 miles total length, but 4 access points if you don't want to do the entire length. We have been on it, but many years ago and in a pickup truck. Long before we had an RV, so don't remember much about it in relation to traveling it with an RV.