by David Reichman

Give yourself a break and get on motorcycle road trip along the longest rural parkway in the United States, the Blue Ridge Parkway. The parkway runs 469 miles that connects the Great Smoky Mountains in southern North Carolina to Shenandoah National Park in northern Virginia and stretches across the southern Appalachian Mountains. That fact alone already states a very promising scenic road trip.


If you want to get the most out of the beauty of Blue Ridge Parkway, you will need to allot four days for this motorcycle road trip. Take the time to stop and explore nearby towns that have existed since the first settlements in America.

Starting from North Carolina, the beginning of your road trip is kicked off with a movie-like dramatic setting as the from the Smoky Mountains is so visible. Ride to Boone, the Firefly Capital of the World. If you are feeling like being a child again, stop by at Boone’s major attraction, the Tweetsie Railroad. Moving along to Asheville, treat yourself with cultural and historic attractions. Ride to Asheville and find the Biltmore Estate. The Estate was the most technologically-adnvanced home during its time. You might want to spend the night at Biltmore Estate for their wine and experience the life of the rich and famous.

If you are a fun of the Wild West, you might want to go on your motorcycle road trip with a stop at Maggie Valley. In Maggie, there’s the Ghost Town in the Sky theme park. Relax and enjoy staged gunfights. Heading to Humpback Mountain will let you explore more of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Deep inside, you will find Linville Caverns. Be sure to look around Linville Caverns and brace yourself to see oddities after oddities in each room.

Leaving North Carolina, you get a chance to see Native American culture manifested in such towns as Cherokee where the Cherokee Indians settles. From another group, however, the Oconaluftee Indian Village, you can even learn words from their native tongue and participate in some of their activities like mask carving and canoe hauling. Finally approaching Virginia, take a stop for a live entertainment as local actors in costumes give life to the 1800’s Appalachian skills, customs and traditions performed at the Humpback Rocks. The same entertainment lies ahead at Mabry Mill as performers also demonstrate old Appalachian lifestyle. While relaxing in Mabry Mill, grab a bite of the town’s specialty, the fresh apple butter. A taste alone will make you feel that this motorcycle road trip is all worth it.

As dramatic as the Smoky Mountains mist has provided for the beginning of your motorcycle road trip, so does the roaring sound of the Crabtree Falls for the ending. Take one more stop before finally concluding your trip at the Blue Ridge Music Center and listen to some old folk songs dating back from the time of the early settlers.

A four-day excursion via Blue Ridge Parkway will make you realize that there are really so many beautiful places in the United States. As you think of your journey, it encourages you to explore more of the country’s four corners to see its beauty with a motorcycle road trip.