Drive: 22 min

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a ribbon of road that weaves through the region’s vibrant living traditions. From Cherokee life and agricultural history to Southern Appalachian crafts and music, the Parkway’s 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina offer many ways to explore rich traditions.

Spanning the southern and central Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers an exceptional glimpse of the regional flora and fauna. It is world-renowned for its biodiversity.

The Parkway covers a wide range of habitats along the Appalachian Mountains, and some of these habitats are exceptionally rare. Visitors encounter unsurpassed diversity of climate, vegetation, wildlife and geological features.

Closest Entrance to Staunton:
From Interstate 64, west of Richmond, or east from I-81 and the towns of Staunton/Waynesboro, VA, take exit 99 atop of Rockfish Gap for the northern starting point of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A turn south starts the Parkway; go north to enter Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. (A start at the northern entrance to Shenandoah, from I-66 near Front Royal, VA, adds 100 miles to the Parkway journey.)