Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Mtn Parkway

[Canadian_Camper]

Well, it looks like Alaska is off the agenda for this summer, for a variety of reasons. 😞

We've decided instead to spend a couple of weeks around the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway etc, and then come up the coast.

We'll be starting out in Ontario. Any suggestions for the best routes, things to do and see and places to see in the Smokies and on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway?

I'm usually a good planner, but having trouble with the best way to see this area.

Thanks for your help!

[kohldad]

Just know that some of the areas of the BRP and inside GSMNP the roads are NOT RV friendly.

Not so. Only a few of the pull outs are not RV friendly. I've traveled the entire length with a 35' FW with no problems.

I enjoy staying without hookups and will provide you how I would do it. Work you way to Townsend, TN and visit Cades Cove. If you can do without hookups, stay inside the park. Cades Cover is an 11 mile loop an the best place to look for wildlife. Then take 441 up and over the mountains and stay in Smokemont for a day or two exploring the east side. Either make a side trip or run over for the day to Deep Creek and hike to trail to a couple of the falls.

From Smokemont, it's easy to grab the southern tip of the Parkway. Your first campground opportunity on the parkway is Pisgah near Asheville unless you want to get off for a night. If you do, stay at Moonshine Creek. You could spend a couple of nights here and run down to Dillsboro to take a train ride if into that. On the parkway, make sure you stop at Devil's Courthouse and take the trail UP to the top, well worth the views. Park at the southern end of the parking lot if possible and you will be able to snap a birds eye view of your rig.

May want to drop off the parkway and enjoy Asheville for a few days before heading further north stopping at Lineville Falls campground. Spend a couple days here traveling north on the parkway to enjoy the Linville Viaduct along with hiking the Tanawha Trail as it's one of the prettiest. Parking is tight for the trails so you will won't to stop without a trailer in tow.

While you can continue up and stop at Doughton Park, that is about as far as I would go north on the BRP. Here you can grab I77 south to I-74 to I-40 through Raliegh NC and then catch 70 to Cedar Island or 64 to Nags Head depending on how much of the Outer Banks you want to explore.

If you weren't worried about the mid Atlantic Coast, stay on the parkway making sure to plan on a meal at Mabry Mill and stopping at Rocky Knob. You could continue up to the northern end of the BRP and then continue up the Shenandoah Parkway (It is a $25 fee for the pass unless you have an America the Beautiful pass). From the north end of Shenandoah Parkway, grap I-66 west to I-81 through PA and up around to at least Boston area.

[wecamp04]

You can try the blue ridge parkway app.It has good maps and lists anything and everything you would want to see or do.

[SpeakEasy]

RoyF wrote:

I recommend the book "Blue Ridge Parkway -- Road Guide" by Rose Houk (Sierra Press) for a mile-by-mile guide to things of interest along the Blue Ridge.

RoyF is right. That book is a must-have for anyone traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Traveling the Parkway is a great experience, but you have to know what you're getting into. Do you want a slow and contemplative experience? The Parkway can provide that. If you do the whole thing (or even just most of it), it will take a few days. If you camp at the primitive campgrounds up there and basically stay on the Parkway, after a couple of days you'll feel the stress of modern life melting away. The pace is slow, there are no billboards to distract you, and most of what you see is nature.

If you like bluegrass and old time music, as I do, you'll want to spend some time at the Blue Ridge Music Center - on the Parkway - near the VA - NC border. If they still do this, every weekday afternoon between noon and 4:00PM there is live music there.

Too bad about Alaska. I hope you get to put that back on the table sometime in the future.

[RGar974417]

Here are a few of my favorite campgrounds not too far off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sherando Lake is about 10 miles west of mile marker 18. Very nice Forest Service Campground with electric hookups and big sites in sections B and C. Goose Point on Philpot Lake is another great campground. Loop C is on a pinninsula with 34 sites with electric hookups some right on the water. Both of those are in Virginia.Davidson River in North Carolina is another good one with electric hookups.

[GeoBoy]

You asked for a route. Take 90 West out of Buffalo, NY to Erie and take 79 south to 77 south to 81 west, to 40 west to 66 to Pigeon Forge. We stayed at Pine Mountain RV Park, quiet and convenient to the Great Smoky NP. If your a country fan you should take a side trip to Nashville, TN, great city, Grande ol Opera, lots of fun and stay at the Nashville KOA with a shuttle to downtown Nashville. Have fun.

[ken56]

It looks like you have a choice of routes, west to the "soo" or south to Niagara Falls. Either way, I always go on-line and order travel planners from the states I will be traveling through and see what they have to share. I find them quite useful as they contain localized maps and listings of campgrounds.

What interests do you have? How much time are you planning on? There is so much to see and do its hard to reccomend without having an idea of what to suggest. If you go thru Michigan you have the Soo Locks, Mackinac City, Frankenmuth, The Henry Ford in Dearborn. Go thru Niagara and you can hit Pensylvania Amish country, Hersey, or follow Lake Erie over to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dayton Ohio has the Airforce Museum which is worth the stop.

As far as the Smoky's go and Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge its endless. If you like to hike then there are MILES of trails to trek. The National park itself is beautiful but really does not hold all that much to do. Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the park and worth a hike to get to. Newfound Gap is at the top of the road (rt. 441) that goes from Gatlinburg to Cherokee and lies on the border of TN and NC and has a large parking area to get out and take in the views.

The traffic in the Forge and G'burg can be VERY heavy so patience is in order but don't let that scare you away. Campgrounds are plentiful in the whole area. Dinner shows like Dixie Stampede are fun and they have good food too. Research the area to see if you find anything in your interests.

The Biltmore Estate is worth the price to see and it can take up the whole day. Go to their web site to get your tickets cheaper than at their visitor center. I would say to stay in the Maggie Valley area and do a day trip to the Biltmore. Wheels through time museum is in Maggie Valley and if you like motorcycles and old cars its worth a look too.

[1stgenfarmboy]

Mile High campground is just off the BRP south of the Maggie Valley exit, one of the coolest CG's just for the fact it is very high and elk romp through camp, no hookups but they have hot showers, and as close to zero noise as you will find call now for reservations ! !

down load the pdf map of the parkway as well as Shenandoah so you can look it over and not mis cool things.

your rig will be perfect for anywhere you want to go in Shanendoah/BRP/SMNP all three.

Grandfather mtn, Mt Mitchell S.P., are a couple places not to miss.

pull off of the BRP at all the roadside attractions and history spots.





be sure to watch some of the DVD's of all parks you want to visit some of the info we will forget and you mite see something you want to do.


these three spots you are going are at the top of my favorite places in the lower 48, my wife and I have vacationed in the smokies 30 times in 31 years, Shenandoah 4 times, traveled the full 469 miles of the BRP 4 times.


Dar

[FloridaReLoaded]

Stay away from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area unless you like bumper to bumper traffic. I would get on in Cherokee NC and go from there. The Tennessee side is overrated and is a tourist trap!

[ncscz]

Check the Blue Ridge Parkway web site to see what else is happening while you are traveling on it. From now through fall there are multiple bicycling events around the Asheville and Mount Pisgah area. I failed to do that last year and ended up using 3 hours to go between mile marker 408 and 440. 😞

Most of these events are scheduled for weekends and time around holidays so you can work around them.

[RoyF]

We did the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive last summer in a fifth wheel. I suggest that it is not a good idea to take a trailer on either parkway for the simple reasons that parking at many of the viewpoints may not be available if you are towing a trailer and that there are few places to turn around with a trailer.

Given the lower speed at which you will want to drive and the many stops at viewpoints, we planned to make camp for three nights every 100 miles at RV parks near (not on) the parkway. One day for travel between camps, a second day to go 50 miles south on the parkway and return to camp, a third day to go 50 miles north on the parkway and return to camp. Fifty miles and back doesn't sound like much, but it turned out to just right for one day. There were many places to stop, and we enjoyed a picnic lunch each day at a table with view.

We started at the south end and worked our way north. Camps were at RV parks in or near
1) Ashville, NC
2) Boone, NC
3) Meadows of Dan, VA
4) Natural Bridge, VA

Side trip to Charlottesville, VA (3 nights) for Montecello (Home of Thomas Jefferson) and homes of James Madison and James Monroe (U. S. Presidents following Jefferson).

5)Harrisonburg, VA

That was 18 nights counting the side trip to Charlottesville.

I recommend the book "Blue Ridge Parkway -- Road Guide" by Rose Houk (Sierra Press) for a mile-by-mile guide to things of interest along the Blue Ridge.

[Merrykalia]

Just know that some of the areas of the BRP and inside GSMNP the roads are NOT RV friendly. If you are not used to traveling 2-lane roads that are curvy and mountainous, you do not need to pull your RV through them. Use some of the major highways, find the campground, drop the RV and take the pickup along some of the narrower roads.

Start here with planning

This should get you started and then you can determine where to get on/off the BRP and then you can start planning what/where/when in the GSMNP.

We usually stay in Pigeon Forge and drive into the park during the day. (We like to have amenities like power, water, AC, etc.) We stay at Pine Mountain RV Park if we are on that side. We also will stay at Smoky Bear RV Resort in Cosby, TN. There are many, many campgrounds, so use RV Park Reviews to determine which ones are recommended wherever you decide to enter GSMNP.

[Terryallan]

sdianel wrote:
We like to stay in Sevierville TN and drive into Smoky Mountains NP. Very touristy area but convenient for parking the RV and sightseeing. We stay at the River Plantation RV Resort. There are places to park your vehicle and take the trolley. Don't miss Cades Cove. I would not drive our RV on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After Sevierville I would move down I-40 to Maggie Valley. See some of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We like Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville. then get back on I-40 to Asheville. Bite the bullet (price) and visit the Biltmore House. Worth every penny. We stay at the KOA Asheville East in Swannanoa. Alto Mama Gertie's is nice but too hilly for us. Boone NC would be a good next stop. Several campgrounds in the area. There is a KOA. We like the town of Mt Airy NC. We stay at the Mayberry Campground. (TV Show Mayberry was filmed there). Pilot Mountain State Park is a nice day trip. Don't have any recommendations for the rest. Enjoy your trip!

Actually The Andy Griffith show was filmed in California. Mount Airy is Andy's home town.

[Terryallan]

there are a few private CGs just off the BRP. You can see them from the Parkway. they do have full hookups.

As for what to see on the Parkway. there are endless overlooks. Waterfalls are scattered out along the BRP as well. To see much of anything else besides Cone Mansion, You will have to get off the Parkway

Tweetsie Railroad is just off the Boone exit of the BRP. Mount Mitchell is also just off the BPR, the highest peak on the East Coast. Linville Caverns is also just off the BRP. Little Switzerland is a very cool place to visit. Many people like Blowing Rock.

Of course the BRP ends in Cherokee NC, and there is a lot to see there. The Smoky Mountain Railroad is near there as well. And from there you can drive deeper in to the Smokeys, to Gatlinburg, and Pigion Forge, and DollyWood

[sdianel_-acct_c]

We like to stay in Sevierville TN and drive into Smoky Mountains NP. Very touristy area but convenient for parking the RV and sightseeing. We stay at the River Plantation RV Resort. There are places to park your vehicle and take the trolley. Don't miss Cades Cove. I would not drive our RV on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After Sevierville I would move down I-40 to Maggie Valley. See some of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We like Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville. then get back on I-40 to Asheville. Bite the bullet (price) and visit the Biltmore House. Worth every penny. We stay at the KOA Asheville East in Swannanoa. Alto Mama Gertie's is nice but too hilly for us. Boone NC would be a good next stop. Several campgrounds in the area. There is a KOA. We like the town of Mt Airy NC. We stay at the Mayberry Campground. (TV Show Mayberry was filmed there). Pilot Mountain State Park is a nice day trip. Don't have any recommendations for the rest. Enjoy your trip!