Blue Ridge Parkway — Roanoke Mountain

The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway threads the spine of the Blue Ridge from Shenandoah to the Smokies, and milepost 120 is the only place on the entire length where a one-way loop breaks from the main road. The Roanoke Mountain section spirals 3.7 miles over steep grades to a 2,161-foot summit, overlooks spaced every half mile. Towed vehicles are prohibited — the curves are tight, the pitch real. The road was authorized by Congress on June 30, 1936, after construction had already started the year before. Personnel from four Civilian Conservation Corps camps worked roadside plantings and graded slopes while private contractors laid the pavement. The Parkway has been the most visited unit in the National Park System every year since 1946 except four. There is no entrance fee. The speed limit never exceeds 45 mph. At milepost 129.6, the Roanoke Valley Overlook frames the largest city on the Parkway's route — the town that began as Big Lick, named for salt deposits that drew game, renamed when the Norfolk and Western Railway made it a boomtown in 1882. Down the ridge at milepost 114.9, a short walk reaches views of the Roanoke River Gorge. The Parkway Visitor Center is at milepost 115. Sunset from the Roanoke Mountain summit is the reason to drive the loop.