The Blue Ridge Parkway turns 75 this year and it’s as gorgeous as ever, with unmatched views of Appalachia. “America’s Favorite Drive” stretches 470 miles from the Shehandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. We’re a little prejudiced of course, but we believe the rugged southern section is the most scenic. In fact, the 90 mile drive from Cherokee to Asheville will take you to the highest point on the Parkway at Richland Balsam. It’s a great day trip from the Bryson City / Cherokee area.

Download a pdf map of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Photo by Shari Jardina, an Indianapolis photographer who’s captured many images of the North Carolina Smokies.

Julia Thompson photographed this winter scene at the top of Deep Gap Road in the Alarka community south of Bryson City. At 3000 feet, the scene includes a spectacular skyline view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Just as the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park draws to a close, the neighboring Park’s anniversary has just begun. Last week, the Blue Ridge Parkway kicked off its 75th year with a ceremony at the Ravensford Overlook near the southern end of the 469 mile scenic roadway. The Cherokee NC location was significant for several reasons — it’s where the two parks and the Qualla Boundary share borders, and it acknowledged the Cherokees’ major role in bringing the Parkway through the reservation and into Swain County.

The kick-off ceremony included a “passing of the torch” from one Park to the other, ceremonial dances by the Warriors of AniKituhwa and a Cherokee blessing from 85 year-old tribal elder Jerry Wolfe, who was born and raised only a mile from the Ravensford Overlook in a cabin where the parkway now runs.  View video.

More about the Parkway’s 75th Anniversary here.

With temperatures dropping in the Fall, early morning fogs are fairly common in the Smokies. Obviously, when clouds are touching the ground, there’s not much to see. But if you head for the higher elevations, along the Blue Ridge Parkway or Newfound Gap Road in the National Park, you can enjoy a spectacular sunrise above the clouds.

Photo by J.R. vanLienden

It’s the question of the month from callers to the Bryson City Chamber of Commerce. And the answer is “You can see fall color just about anytime from early October through early November. You just may have to drive to see it.” That’s because the arrival of peak color varies with the elevation, which ranges from 2000 to more than 6000 feet in Swain County.

Autumn’s annual color show is already making its way down from highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the climate is more like New England’s. And over the next three weeks, the above display will be repeated throughout the the Smoky Mountain landscape with the grand finale coming around the end of the month. The only spoiler could be a heavy thunderstorm, which could bring down the curtain early.

But right now, it’s shaping up to be quite a show.

Photo by J.R.VanLienden

Over the past week, the valleys around Bryson City have turned lush green and the Spring color is just beginning to creep up the hillsides, providing stark contrast with the still-wintry mountains above. It will be a few more weeks before the “greening up” of the mountains reaches the highest peaks of the Great Smokies.

This makes the next few weeks a fascinating time to drive in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can literally watch the seasons change with each change in elevation.

The Dragon — the curvy stretch of US Highway 129 connecting North Carolina and Tennessee at Deal’s Gap — elicits contrasting responses from visitors to the Smoky Mountains. “Flatlanders”, unaccustomed to serpentine roads, have been known to turn several shades of green after negotiating the road’s 318 continuous curves in just eleven miles. But motorcyclists love it, and consider it one of the best motorcycling and sports car roads in the world.

Early morning views from the top of the Smokies often look down on a blanket of clouds. Then, as the temperature rises, the cloud cover slowly lifts – at first completely shrouding the view and then dissipating to reveal the majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Fall visitors to the Smokies often try to plan their visit around the “peak season” for autumn color. Yet no one except Mother Nature knows when the “peak” will occur …and she’s not talking.

Fall arrives first at the higher elevations, suggesting early-to-mid October drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway (above), Cherohala Skyway, and US 441 across Newfound Gap. Yet at the lower elevations around Bryson City, the best color usually arrives mid-to-late October …sometimes as late as early November.

Truth is, if you visit the Smokies just about any time in October, you’re certain to find Fall foliage. Just look high and low.

Photo by J.R. vanLienden, Masterpiece Portraits

Motorcyclists from all over the world come to the Smokies to “slay the Dragon”, the infamous stretch of US Highway 129 at Deal’s Gap in western Swain County, NC. With 318 curves in just eleven miles, the Dragon is considered by many as one of the best motorcycling and sports car roads in the world.

At the Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort, the “Tree of Shame” is covered with broken parts and pieces of the bikes that crashed on the Dragon — a makeshift shrine to those who faced the beast …and lost.