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THERE ARE TWO ways to look at the Blue Ridge Parkway: It is often viewed as a 469-mile drive with scenic stops for pictures. But it also can be seen as a unique ridge-top road tying together hundreds of interesting places to check out.
There is nothing wrong with seeing the world-famous parkway as just a spectacular scenic drive, but it offers so much more for the curious visitor who will take the time to explore.
I had built in enough time on my trip back from South Carolina last week to amble back along the parkway and stop where I wished.
What I hadn't counted on in mid-summer, though, was weather problems. I had planned for most other eventualities, but the heavy rain and the low clouds I encountered in Cashiers, N.C., followed me for the next 24 hours, almost to the Virginia state line the following day.
The upshot is that, while I actually drove three-fourths of the sinuous road, I really saw only the northernmost 270 or so miles. But that wasn't all bad: I missed the spectacular views, peering into mile after fuzzy mile of dense fog and clouds, but I had the parkway to myself.
The next day, the weather cleared, skies were sunny, and with the weather came a flood of motorcycles, vans, RVs, cars and bicycles.
During the foggy first day, I tried to hike a North Carolina trail and turned around. When 50 feet is the limit of visibility and the turf is unfamiliar, you begin to worry about getting lost!
I had better luck the next day, hiking the first of four trails, all but one of them fairly short and easy. Visitor centers scattered along the parkway in both states have a free list of trails originating on or accessible from the parkway. They also have a free map of the entire parkway which is invaluable. I strongly recommend getting a copy of both.
Everything along the parkway is located by mileposts, measured from the north end, where it begins at the point where Interstate 64 crosses the Blue Ridge at Rockfish Gap. That happens to be the southern end of Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. The parkway is actually a continuation of Skyline Drive, linking it with Great Smoky Mountains National Park nearly 470 miles to the southwest.
These mountains were home to hardy settlers who with sheer grit and great toil managed a subsistence living long before the federal government acquired land and began the parkway in 1935. Evidence of these people is found today in old buildings, cemeteries and stores--some restored, some not--along the length of the road.
Just before milepost 86 on the west side of the road, a two-mile (round trip) trail leads up a hill and through a woods to the old Johnson family home. Established in 1766 and operated by family descendants through the 1930s, it is a demonstration farm today. Life for these people was hard, hard, hard.
Opposite the farm to the east, the aptly named Sharp Top mountain provides a signature profile to visitors for miles around. Two trails gain the summit, with stunning views.
An easy, pleasant trail for those with less time or ability is a one-mile loop called the Trail of Trees, at the visitor center where the parkway crosses the James River. It offers beautiful views both up and down the mighty James, as well as an excellent introduction to the varieties of trees found in mountain Virginia.
I know of few places in the state with such varied trails as the parkway: Historic trails, scenic river trails, trails to mountain summits, trails descending into gorges beside crashing waterfalls and numerous other variations on a walking theme are found along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The one trail I walked that gave me a good workout took me to Fallingwater Cascades, starting from a parking lot at milepost 83.1. A short trail, it is steep and intense and will definitely get the cardiovascular system pumping! The scenery was neat, too.
While it is chiefly a recreational roadway, the parkway also takes visitors close to a number of Virginia and North Carolina cities and towns. Roanoke in the former and Asheville in the latter state are good places to visit, either in search of lodging and a meal or for a side trip in their own right.
I did not go prepared to camp on this trip, and so on the evening of my first day, I went in search of a room after noticing that Blowing Rock and Boone were only a few miles off the parkway. My mistake. With sky-high motel prices, I can't recommend either town for the budget-conscious vacationer. After wasting an hour or so looking for an affordable room, I drove to North Wilkesboro and found an excellent room for much less at the Addison Inn. That easy, 25-mile drive saved me $50.
From the Fredericksburg area, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a good extended weekend trip, depending on how far south one wishes to drive and whether you backtrack or return by a quicker route. As an aside, I always enjoy browsing the funky little country store at Meadows of Dan, barely half a mile east of the parkway at about milepost 178.
Also, anyone planning more than a Saturday jaunt on the parkway ought to get a copy of "Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway" by Victoria Logue, Frank Logue and Nicole Blouin. Published by Menasha Ridge Press, it is priced at $13.95. For online parkway information, try these two sites: blueridgeparkway.org and nps.gov/blri.
PAUL SULLIVAN, a former reporter with The Free Lance-Star, is a freelance writer living in Spotsylvania County. Contact him by mail at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; by fax at 373-8455; or by e-mail at PBSullivan2@cs.com.