The Blue Ridge Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park on its north side to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on its south side. It travels through four U.S. Forest Service areas and close to several other national parks and countless state parks and wilderness areas. Depending on what section of the Parkway you are visiting, these adjacent parks are always worth a visit.
Shenandoah National Park
Just north of the Parkway, Shenandoah National Park runs across the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, between the Shenandoah River and Valley on the west and the rolling hills of the Virginia Piedmont on the east. Its most prominent feature is Skyline Drive, a 105-mile scenic byway that runs the entire length of the park along the ridge of the mountains. 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail run through this park, in addition to more than 500 miles of other hiking trails. Backcountry camping sites are scattered throughout the park’s 200,000 acres. The northernmost part of the park is only 75 miles from Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.nps.gov/shen.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The Smokies are America’s most visited national park, and they are renowned worldwide for their diversity of plant and animal life, scenic beauty, and quality of remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture. The park covers 522, 419 acres, and has 850 miles of hiking trails, including 70 miles of the Appalachian Trail. For more information, visit http://www.nps.gov/grsm.