North Carolina Road Trips

What are the best drives in North Carolina?

These are the routes people ask for by name. Road conditions and closures change, so check the official source for each before you set out.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina: 469 miles, about an hour per 30 miles. That's the whole Parkway; Visit North Carolina counts 252 of its miles in this state. Sections can close, so check the National Park Service's road status page before you plan. Official information.

Outer Banks Scenic Byway

Whalebone Junction to Beaufort: 137.8 miles, 5.5 hours, including 3.5 hours on two ferries. Two ferries, eight island villages and two national seashores, with reservations recommended on some crossings. Official information.

Cherohala Skyway

Santeetlah Gap, near Robbinsville to Tellico Plains, Tennessee: 43 miles, two hours. Mile-high vistas and brilliant fall foliage through the seldom-seen southern Appalachian national forests. Official information.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Kuwohi in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks: 1200 miles, three to four months on foot. Almost 1,200 miles on foot across the whole state, part footpath and part connecting road. Sections can close, so check the trail's Trail Updates page before you go. Official information.

Looking for somewhere to stop? See places in North Carolina and the North Carolina outdoors.