Need skyline, blue ridge parkway, smokey mtn trip info

[peter griffin]

Hello, I leaving from Boston around the 4th of July to Dollywood and plan on through the skyline, blueridge parkway, and the middle of Smokey Mountians...has anyone ever done this trip before? I am concerned over the safety of the drive with a 33' RV. I was planning on 1 day driving for each leg of the trip. (1 day throught the smokey, 1 day for skyline, one day for blue ridge parkway) does this sound reasonable? Any help or suggestions would be great. Thanks

[peter griffin]

Hello, I leaving from Boston around the 4th of July to Dollywood and plan on through the skyline, blueridge parkway, and the middle of Smokey Mountians...has anyone ever done this trip before? I am concerned over the safety of the drive with a 33' RV. I was planning on 1 day driving for each leg of the trip. (1 day throught the smokey, 1 day for skyline, one day for blue ridge parkway) does this sound reasonable? Any help or suggestions would be great. Thanks

[Tom N]

Last Fall I drove Skyline Drive the last week of October. The Fall colors were at their peak. We stayed at Loft Mountain CG. This was the last weekend the campgrounds were open.

There are many pull offs that will easily accommodate a large motorhome. The speed limit is 35 on the Skyline and 45 on the Blue Ridge so it'll be a leisurely drive. Both of these scenic roadways will easily accommodate any RV.

In late October I'll be driving the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to FL.

-Tom

Parked at Loft Mt CG.


The lone tunnel on the Skyline Drive.

[HappyJoe]

For writen information go to the

EastCoastRVing_Traveling group

the camping is spelled out for the
Blue Ridge Parkway /Skyline Drive

[Tom N]

Allen;

Why don't you answer his question instead of sending him to your mailing list?????

-Tom

[peter griffin]

wow great photos.... thanks for the info!

[Pusherman]

Peter,

We stayed at the Elkmont CG in the Smokey Mountain National Park. I highly recommend it -- about 30 min or so to Dollywood. Here are some Posts on it here.

[Hitchhiker]

I've traveled both the Blue Ridge parkway and the Skyline Drive from either direction numerous times, it'll be a very enjoyable trip and your time table seems realistic for the terrain and speeds you'll be traveling. As posted, there are lots of scenic pull outs that you'll want to stop at, your time table will depend on how often you make such stops.

We liked the Big Meadows CG on the Skyline and there are several along the BRP that are nice (no hookups).

Here's a couple links that may help:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>BRP Travel Guide
<LI>BRP Guided Tour[/list]

[Tom N]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Hitchhiker:
I've traveled both the Blue Ridge parkway and the Skyline Drive from either direction numerous times, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Richard;

Did you ever travel the BRP when the campgrounds were closed??

I wanted to drive the BRP early in April on our way home from FL but all the BRP campgrounds were closed. I'm planning on the BRP in Nov. on our way to FL. I have no problem just parking in a parking lot overnight.

-Tom

[Hitchhiker]

Tom,

Sure, we have traveled it when the federal campgrounds are closed. There are numerous private campggrounds in the vicinity and several are open year round. Most are just a few miles off the Parkway or Skyline Drive.

[peter griffin]

Well, just went through the skyline,the blue ridge parkway (BPR), the smokey mountains, and ended up at dollywood koa..in 3.5 days...my brakes are very tired! I do not recommend these driving times. My kids and wife rushed me all the way. I thought I was at nascar race.

For future reference...I would suggest spending at least 2 days on the skyline and stopping halfway and camping. As for the Blue Ridge Parkway I completed this drive in about 2 days. You really need 4 days. Getting gas was difficult. A lot of the gas stations were closed after 6pm and far off the BPR. I did not get a chance to go up to Mt. Mitchel Observatory. Plus, there is a hotel nearby which has awesome views. I recommend stopping alot to cool down the brakes. As for the Smokey Mountians...do not enter through Cherokee because of the very steep grades and poor road conditions. I made the mistake of going around the low bridges at the end of the BRP. When you enter the Smokey's the Campground does not have showers and it is about a 10 minute ride once you enter mountian. On the BPR and the Smokey Mountain the trees are very low and my camper must have hit at least 100 low branches.

The smokey mountians cross time was about 1 hr. it was a quick up and a quick down.

We went through the skyline on July third around 5 pm and there was no traffic.

As for Campgrounds along the way we stayed at the federal parks...which were first come first serve and got very lucky. Going through the BRP on the 4th of july was great. No traffic and you can pull over along the way and watch the fireworks..

I want to thank everyone for their help and posts. Please contact me if you need any info!

[Hitchhiker]

Glad you enjoyed the trip.

[Foz]

Skyline Drive is nice. You should stop at a local campground & drive a toad up for the day, it is much easier. Nice campground about 1/2 hour from Rt 33 entrance = Small Country.