Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, G.A.

[cmccubrey]

I will be traveling from DC to ATL in August. I would like to extend the trip a little bit by traveling through rural Virginia and North Carolina. I was thinking of traveling through Roanoke, VA, and Asheville, NC, as check points, but I am flexible. I'd like to put together a trip that involves some good southern food/restaurant stops. Any suggestions?

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

I can't help with your questions on this trip but thought I wold say Hi, and to suggest that it might help if you were to say how long you are planning on taking to complete the journey and whether or not it is a round trip or just one way. It's always good to take a different route on the way back and see new places, if it's a round trip that is.

[Capn]

It all depends on how long you have. The short route down I-95/I-85 is about 10 hours, which is a long, boring day. To add anything at all you're talking a multi-day trip, one direction. Based on the control points you mentioned, you can't do much better than Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Head west on I-66 out of DC and take the Front Royal exit to US-340. Just south of town you'll pick up Skyline Drive, a beautiful parkway through Shenandoah National Park. At I-64 Skyline Drive becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469 mile road that weaves its way through the mountains all the way to Cherokee, NC. There are plenty of places to stop on this trek, but as a highpointer I have to recommend Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina's highpoint and the highest point east of the Mississippi.

In Cherokee you can take US-441 S to Franklin and pick up US-64 W toward Hayesville. Another state highpoint, Brasstown Bald, is easily accessed off of GA-75/GA-180. From there you can weave down US-19 to the city.

Google puts your drive time at 22.5 hours, which could be done in three days, but with stops you'll likely want a little more. My recommendation is to leave in the evening and drive to Shenandoah for the night and then pick up in the morning for a three day jaunt to Atlanta. The parkway is 35 mph most of the way; this is a road that is meant to be seen, not breezed through. If you have the time, look up some potential stopping points on the National Park website for Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.