Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, America’s most beloved road trip

Now that the trees are about to shed their ‘leaves’ and the Atlantic Ocean is being swept by the first autumn currents, a road trip along the 754-kilometre Blue Ridge Parkway – through the scenic landscape linking Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, under the watchful and reassuring gaze of the Appalachians – can offer surprises and rewards even to the most seasoned travellers. The journey begins at Rockfish Gap and ends in Cherokee; no bookings or tickets are required to travel along it: however, it is worth obtaining a National Park Pass to enter and exit the many National Parks you’ll pass through with ease, including the Richland Balsam Overlook, situated at an altitude of 1,845 metres in Jackson County, which you’ll reach at the end of the 45 miles considered the most scenic in the whole of the United States, amongst the mountain towns of Cashiers, Sylva, Dillsboro and Cherokee in north-western North Carolina. And to get ready, you can watch the documentary *The Blue Ridge Parkway: A Long and Winding Road*, directed by Bruce Bowers. Here are a few destinations you might choose along this ideal route as autumn begins.