Self-Guided Audio Driving Tour in Blue Ridge Parkway

As the audio guides play commentary based on your gps location, you can create your own itinerary along the tour route to match your interests and schedule.

A lively and sometimes alternative-feeling small city, Asheville boasts an impressive collection of breweries, more great restaurants than you could eat at in a year, and too many art galleries to count, Asheville is a must-stop if you’re going to make your Blue Ridge Parkway trip a multi-day affair. Also home to the French Chateau-styled Biltmore Estate, one of America's most prestigious and historically significant properties. Make time to explore Asheville - and make it at least one full day if you want to combine it with a visit to Biltmore Estate.

Perhaps it's a surprise to find a music center along our National Park drive. This part of the drive is the birthplace of country and bluegrass music, and as a stop on Virginia’s Crooked Road Music Trail, the Blue Ridge Music Center is keeping the memory and spirit of these genres alive. Displays celebrate famous musicians, familiar songs, and other influences from the region. Daily jam sessions - called Midday Mountain Music - take place from noon to 4pm and are free to enjoy. The Summer Concert Series brings in established and up-and-coming bluegrass acts weekly from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Though it's located at the very end, or the very start, of the Blue Ridge Parkway - Cherokee certainly deserves a special mention and some of your touring time. In Cherokee, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and the Oconaluftee Arts and Crafts Mutual tell the history of the Cherokee and display their traditional crafts and artworks. If you’re visiting in summer, take in the outdoor drama Unto These Hills, telling the story of the Trail of Tears, the splitting of the Cherokee Tribe, and the brave, resilient Cherokee who fought for their freedom and the right to their ancestral land here in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. On the Great Smoky Mountains National Park side of the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance is the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, where you have an excellent chance of seeing an elk herd - especially in morning and evenings.

This beautiful hike has a scary name, but don’t worry, no devils have been seen here in ages. Take this short, strenuous hike to a rocky promontory and be prepared to be wowed. From your perch at 5,270 feet you’ll be able to take in much of the Pisgah National Forest and see where the Blue Ridge Mountains give way to the Carolina Piedmont. The rather ominous name harks from legend from the local Cherokee and from later settlers.

Turn off the Parkway to visit this 1,100 acre park that sits beside the Roanoke River, complete with an on-site museum and visitor center celebrating the region with a giant 3D relief map of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A pair of galleries tell the story of the Parkway and the settling of Roanoke and the surrounding Roanoke River Valley. There's a substantial network of trails for hikers and mountain bikers here as well.

Grandfather Mountain sits just a few minutes off the Parkway but is well worth turning off to explore. This location does have an entrance fee, and the main attraction is billed as Mile High Swinging Bridge. It's true, it's a mile up in the sky and is just the right amount of thrill and steadiness for everyone to enjoy. The chasm between the two peaks is not a mile deep - so pretty much all will enjoy it. And as you can imagine, the views are epic. This location also conducts a Stewardship Foundation, which preserves this land and also some wildlife. And another claim to fame was its appearance in one of the all-time great movies - you'll find out which one.

Just a few miles from the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway you’ll find one of our favorite hikes: Humpback Rocks. This 2-mile loop trail leads you to the a craggy summit where the views are outstanding. The landscapes reveals the hills and wide valleys of Virginia which look great in any season - but in fall the view is magnificent. Expect 2 hours to complete this moderately difficult trail.

The Blue Ridge Parkway crosses the James River at the lowest point along the Parkway’s route. Here there’s a huge picnic area, a footbridge crossing the river, and the chance to look at the hand-operated locks that once allowed trade to flow on the James. Nearby trails ring a one-time millpond, but you can reach it by taking the connector trail at the north end of the parking lot. Local outfitters can get you paddling or floating on the river.

You’ve got to stop at Linville Falls, one of the most popular waterfall hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This triple fall plunges, plunges and plunges again in a deep gorge that’s been called The Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians. As you follow the main trail to the overlook revealing all of Linville Falls, you’ll pass side trails that take you to the first and second falls before reaching the picture-postcard-perfect view from the final stop, and turnaround point on the trail.

This historic grist mill and pond are the most-photographed things on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and when you stop here you’ll see why. When the mill is open, volunteers operate it as intended: milling corn and bagging it for sale. But even when it’s not open, the short walk around the mill will show you pieces of the area’s history from the moonshine still to the original flumes and troughs channeling water to the mill, to photos and stories about the mill itself. The Mabry Mill Restaurant located at the south end of the parking area serves tasty country cooking, but they’re best known for their buckwheat pancakes.

Located on the former estate of the same-named textile entrepreneur, you can explore the grounds on old carriage roads or visit the Southern Highlands Crafts Guild, featuring traditional Southern Appalachian artisans. Also found nearby is Julian Price Park with a scenic lake. And also leave the Blue Ridge Parkway for side trips to two very unique and rather significant towns - Blowing Rock and Boone.

If you like the idea of bagging mountain peaks without requiring a huge effort, Mount Mitchell will give you that satisfaction. The is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi and from the parking lot, it's only a paved 1/2 mile walk to the viewing platform at the summit, but it is steep. If the timing is right - stick around for sunset.

Just a few miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of Virginia’s natural wonders. Natural Bridge State Park’s central feature is the 215-foot tall natural arch spanning a narrow canyon. Trails wind through the park, providing views of the Natural Bridge from several angles. Also check out Cedar Creek Trail as it winds through a lush forest. Thomas Jefferson at one time owned Natural Bridge and the land around, but thankfully it’s now preserved for all of us to enjoy as a state park.