Bicycling the Blue Ridge, 4th: A Guide to the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway are arguably the two most quintessential scenic roads east of the Mississippi. This 575-mile strip of continuous road flows between Front Royal, Virginia, and Cherokee, North Carolina, traverses the Shenandoah National Park, and connects to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains. Bicycling the Blue Ridge is the definitive guide to this ribbon of highway and is ready to help you plan the perfect trip.

Open these pages and you will find detailed, mile-by-mile descriptions that provide information on lodging, restaurants, stores, and bike shops on or near these united roads. Newly designed maps and elevation profiles are also included.

Whether your interest is recreational cycling, touring, or racing, whether you are out for the day or a month, Bicycling the Blue Ridge is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in bicycling this incredible highway.

For racers, long-distance touring cyclists, and recreational cyclists, Bicycling the Blue Ridge gives mile-by-mile descriptions to plan the perfect trip along the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

(1) An Introduction to Bicycling the Blue Ridge (2) The Ultimate Bicycling Road (3) Weather in the Blue Ridge Mountains (4) Camping versus Lodging (5) Gearing Up: Special Equipment and Clothing (6) An Explanation of our Point-by-Point Descriptions (7) The Skyline Drive (8) Front Royal to Matthews Arm (9) Matthews Arm to Skyland (10) Skyland to Big Meadows (11) Big Meadows to Lewis Mountain (12) Lewis Mountain to Loft Mountain (13) Loft Mountain to Rockfish Gap (14) The Blue Ridge Parkway (15) Rockfish Gap to Otter Creek (16) Otter Creek to Peaks of Otter (17) Peaks of Otter to Roanoke Mountain (18) Roanoke Mountain to Rocky Knob (19) Rocky Knob to Mabry Mill (20) Mabry Mill to Fancy Gap (21) Fancy Gap to Cumberland Knob (22) Cumberland Knob to Doughton Park (23) Doughton Park to Northwest Trading Post (24) Northwest Trading Post to Julian Price Memorial Park (25) Julian Price Memorial Park to Linville Falls (26) Linville Falls to Crabtree Meadows (27) Crabtree Meadows to Craggy Gardens (28) Craggy Gardent to Asheville (29) Asheville to Mt. Pisgah (30) Mt. Pisgah to Cherokee (31) Great Smoky Mountains National Park