Waterrock Knob Overlook (Blue Ridge Parkway)
USAscenic

Blue Ridge Parkway

469 miles of Appalachian ridgeline, no billboards, no trucks

Distance
416 mi
670 km
Driving
9 hr
excl. stops
Suggested
4 days
balanced split
Stops
5
curated

Distance and driving time are measured along the mapped route through the 5 stops listed below. Officially signed versions of famous routes often quote a longer figure, since they include promoted detours this line doesn't take.

Waterrock Knob Overlook (Blue Ridge Parkway) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Opens the planner with every stop loaded. Free, no card needed.

Day by day

Distances are measured along the actual road geometry, not straight-line. Drive times exclude stops, traffic and ferry waits.

What the drive is like

It's split between the I81, the US221 and the I40, with no single road carrying more than 39% of it.

There's real climbing in this one: the road gets up to roughly 1,182 m near Cherokee, NC, with something like 3,174 m of ascent over the whole drive.

The bigger places on the way are Roanoke, Christiansburg, Dublin and Wytheville, handy for fuel and food between the stops.

The Newfound Gap Road (US-441) is 18 km off the route if you have time for a detour.

  • I8139%
  • US22110%
  • I4010%
  • I6410%

How high it goes

~1,182 m near Cherokee, NCWaynesboro, VACherokee, NC · 663 km
Height above sea level along the driving route, measured at about 50 points. Total climb roughly 3,174 m.

Passes and famous roads

From the 500-plus roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app.

Mountain pass · 18 km off the route

Newfound Gap Road (US-441)

Summit
1,538 m summit

Before you go

Best time to drive it

May to October

October brings the autumn colour. Sections of the Parkway close in winter for ice and snow, so check the National Park Service closure map.

Driving rules

Emission zones, mandatory equipment and licence requirements change country by country, and in 2026 several of them changed mid-year.

Every stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway

  1. Waynesboro, VA

    Start

  2. Roanoke, VA

    +152 km from the last stop

  3. Blowing Rock, NC

    +287 km from the last stop

  4. Asheville, NC

    +143 km from the last stop

  5. Cherokee, NC

    +81 km from the last stop

Worth a detour

Curated places within 25 km of the road.

Show 6 more

  • Blue Ridge Parkway

    scenic viewpoint

    America's favourite drive: 469 miles of ridge-top parkway linking Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks, with countless overlooks, hiking trails, and blazing autumn foliage.

  • Newfound Gap Road (US-441)

    mountain pass

    The only paved road over the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains, climbing to the 5,046 ft Newfound Gap on the Tennessee–North Carolina line with sweeping overlooks along the way.

  • Clingmans Dome (Kuwohi)

    landmark

    The highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains at 6,643 ft, reached by a seven-mile spur road off Newfound Gap; a spiral observation tower gives 360-degree views over the Blue Ridge.

  • Grandfather Mountain

    landmark

    A craggy 5,946 ft North Carolina peak just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, crowned by the Mile High Swinging Bridge: America's highest suspension footbridge, reached by a dramatic summit road.

  • Mount Mitchell

    landmark

    The highest peak east of the Mississippi at 6,684 ft, reached by scenic NC-128 off the Blue Ridge Parkway; a short paved path leads from the parking area to the summit observation deck.

  • Craggy Pinnacle

    scenic viewpoint

    A short, gnarled tunnel of rhododendron on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 364 opens onto a bald 360-degree summit above the Great Craggy Mountains. Catawba rhododendron turns the slopes purple in mid-June.

Common questions about the Blue Ridge Parkway

How long does the Blue Ridge Parkway take?

The driving itself is about 9 hr across 416 miles (670 km). Most people spread it over 4 days: the day-by-day breakdown on this page splits it into balanced stretches rather than equal ones, so no single day is all driving.

How many miles is the Blue Ridge Parkway?

416 miles, or 670 km, measured along the actual road rather than straight-line between towns.

When is the best time to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway?

May to October. October brings the autumn colour. Sections of the Parkway close in winter for ice and snow, so check the National Park Service closure map.

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