Boston to Franklin NC *SCENIC ROUTE*

[MJBM]

Driving from Boston, MA to Franklin, North Carolina to go gem mining. I want to take the most scenic route and avoid the main highway where possible. Are there any towns or attractions (such a national parks) along the way that are worth a stop? We are also planing to stop before and after NC, so a recommended place to stay would be appreciated as well.

I have taken very long road trips before so I'm willing to venture further than most first timers. The weirder the better!!!

Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

If you only plan to stop once between Boston and Franklin, then your choices are severely limited, and don't include any stops or back roads. The only way to make that trip in that time from while avoiding the major east coast cities and staying on relatively scenic roads would be to take I-90/I-84 down through Hartford and continues west to Scranton PA. There you'd get on I-81 south to Kingsport TN and use I-26/I-40/US-23 for the final run into Franklin. While that's certainly scenic, at nearly 1000 miles it doesn't leave a lot of time for side trips or eschewing the Interstates. If you can find a third day for the drive, then you can start to talk about coming down through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Shenandoah National Park, or the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, but such 'detours' take time.

AZBuck