Museum of North Carolina Minerals

Outdoors

A short, steep half-mile climb -- just past where the Parkway crosses under US-221 -- tops out on an exposed rock outcrop with long-range views of Table Rock, Hawksbill, and Grandfather Mountain all from one spot, a favorite sunset stop for locals who know to skip the busier Rough Ridge crowds.

Roadside Americana

One of the last of the Parkway's 26 tunnels before the road ends at the Smokies, named for a 19th-century Cherokee leader -- a five-second reminder that this whole drive terminates inside the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' homeland.

History

Martin and Caroline Brinegar homesteaded this cabin and its still-working loom house in the 1880s -- costumed weaving demonstrations sometimes still happen on the same porch, at the north entrance to Doughton Park's 30 miles of bald-top trail.

Outdoors

Pop out of a 246-foot tunnel bored straight through Craggy Pinnacle and the parking area for one of the Parkway's best short hikes is right there -- 1.4 easy miles to a 360-degree summit through a tunnel of blooming rhododendron in June.

History

Construction on the entire 469-mile Parkway started right here in 1935 -- it's the single spot where "America's favorite drive" became a real road, and it's still the Parkway's oldest picnic ground, with an easy loop trail to the knob itself.

Outdoors

Cherokee legend holds that the devil himself held court for wayward spirits in a cave inside this sheer rock face -- a steep half-mile paved trail leads to a bald summit with views into four states on a clear day, one of the most exposed, dramatic overlooks on the whole Parkway.