Blue Ridge Parkway (Virginia to North Carolina)

Four hundred and sixty-nine miles connecting Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the spine of the Appalachians. The speed limit is 45 mph, and you'll be grateful for it — every mile is a postcard. In October, the fall foliage turns the entire corridor into a cathedral of orange and crimson. Milepost 431 at the Waterrock Knob gives you a 360-degree panorama that makes you understand why the Cherokee considered these mountains sacred.