# Upper South road trips

Shenandoah battlefields, mountain fiddles, bourbon warehouses and the Blue Ridge running like a spine. Valleys where the Civil War never quite ended and the music never stopped.

The Upper South has 31 back-roads routes, about 5,515 miles and 259 curated stops, and 15 ready-made itineraries use them.

## Routes in the Upper South

- [The Valley Pike](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/valley-pike) — Winchester → Roanoke, ~200 mi, 2–3 days
- [Bull Run to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/nova-civilwar) — Loop from Alexandria, ~240 mi, 2–3 days
- [The Crooked Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/crooked-road) — Bristol → Floyd, ~210 mi, 2–3 days
- [Blue Ridge Parkway & the Smokies](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/blue-ridge) — Roanoke → Cherokee (+ Smokies spurs), ~400 mi, 3–5 days
- [Highway 64: Shiloh to Lookout Mountain](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/tn-64) — Memphis → Chattanooga, ~340 mi, 2–3 days
- [Bourbon, Bluegrass & Shakers](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/bourbon-68) — Lexington → Mammoth Cave, ~180 mi, 2–3 days
- [The Constitution Route & 231](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/constitution-va) — Charlottesville → Sperryville, ~75 mi, 1–2 days
- [The Overhill Country](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/overhill) — Chattanooga → Gatlinburg, ~175 mi, 2 days
- [Gold, Clay & Longleaf](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/piedmont) — Raleigh → Columbia, ~250 mi, 2–3 days
- [US 11: The Valley Road South](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/valley-pike-south) — Roanoke → Bristol, ~150 mi, 1–2 days
- [Skyline Drive & the Parkway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/skyline-brp-va) — Front Royal → Roanoke, ~225 mi, 2–3 days
- [Lee's Retreat](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/lees-retreat) — Petersburg → Appomattox, ~110 mi, 1–2 days
- [The Booth Escape Route](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/booth-escape-route) — Washington → Port Royal, ~95 mi, 1 day
- [US 23: The Country Music Highway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/country-music-highway) — Ashland → Pikeville, ~140 mi, 1–2 days
- [US 52: The Mine Wars Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/coal-mine-wars) — Bluefield → Williamson, ~100 mi, 1–2 days
- [The Midland Trail](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/midland-trail) — White Sulphur Springs → Charleston, ~120 mi, 1–2 days
- [The Quiet Zone](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/the-quiet-zone) — Lewisburg → Petersburg, WV, ~160 mi, 2 days
- [The Wilderness Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/wilderness-road) — Bristol → Berea, ~220 mi, 2–3 days
- [Moonbows & the Gorge](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/moonbows-gorge) — Slade → Cumberland Falls, ~150 mi, 2 days
- [US 60: The Mutton Line](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/mutton-line) — Louisville → Paducah, ~220 mi, 2 days
- [US 70: Broadway of America](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us70-broadway) — Memphis → Nashville, ~210 mi, 2 days
- [The Middle Tennessee Pike](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/middle-tn-pike) — Nashville → Muscle Shoals, ~140 mi, 2 days
- [US 127: The Plateau & the Sale](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us127-plateau) — Chattanooga → Albany, KY, ~160 mi, 2 days
- [US 11E: The Great Valley Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/great-valley-11e) — Knoxville → Bristol, ~110 mi, 1–2 days
- [US 64: The Waterfall Byway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/waterfall-byway) — Brevard → Murphy, ~120 mi, 2 days
- [SC 11: The Cherokee Foothills](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/cherokee-foothills) — Gaffney → Walhalla, ~115 mi, 1–2 days
- [The Old Ninety Six District](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/old-96) — Augusta → Abbeville, ~100 mi, 1 day
- [Old Salem to Mayberry](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/mayberry-old-salem) — Winston-Salem → Mount Airy, ~70 mi, 1 day
- [US 58: The Last Capital Road](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/us58-last-capital) — Martinsville → Suffolk, ~230 mi, 2 days
- [The Dragon & the Skyway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/dragon-skyway) — Loop from Gatlinburg, ~280 mi, 2–3 days
- [US 41: Dixie Highway, Nashville to Chattanooga](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/dixie-hwy-nashville) — Nashville → Chattanooga, ~220 mi, 2 days

## Ready-made itineraries in the Upper South

- [Mosby to the Bloody Angle](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/nova-loop) — 3 days, ~240 mi, from Alexandria / DC
- [Presidents & Pinot](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/presidents-pinot) — 3 days, ~160 mi, from Charlottesville
- [Crooked Road Ramble](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/crooked-weekend) — 3 days, ~220 mi, from Bristol (start Thursday)
- [The Blue Ridge, Ridgeline to Smokies](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/blue-ridge-ridgeline) — 5 days, ~640 mi, from Front Royal
- [High Country & Mountain Music](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/highcountry-week) — 7 days, ~620 mi, from Roanoke (start Thursday)
- [The Eastern Crescent](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/eastern-crescent) — 15 days, ~1800 mi, from Washington, DC
- [The Long Way to the Opry](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/music-epic) — 21 days, ~3000 mi, from Nashville (loop)
- [Bourbon, Bluegrass & Shakers](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/bourbon-weekend) — 3 days, ~300 mi, from Lexington, KY
- [Coal, Bluegrass & the Country Music Highway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/coal-and-country) — 6 days, ~620 mi, from Ashland, KY
- [A Reader's Central Kentucky: Bardstown to Shaker Village](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/reader-central-kentucky) — 3 days, ~160 mi, from Bardstown, KY
- [The Smokies, Every Road That Matters](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/smokies-weekend) — 3 days, ~280 mi, from Gatlinburg
- [Nashville to Atlanta on the Dixie Highway](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/nashville-to-atlanta) — 3 days, ~340 mi, from Nashville
- [Nashville Day Trips: the Dixie Highway Sampler](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/nashville-day-trips) — 3 days, ~300 mi, from Nashville

## Itineraries that also touch the Upper South

- [The Whole Hog](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/whole-hog) — 28 days, ~4300 mi, from Memphis (loop)
- [Cradle & Surrender: Jamestown to Appomattox](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/cradle-and-surrender) — 3 days, ~260 mi, from Williamsburg

## Frequently asked questions
### How many Upper South road trips are in the atlas?

31 back-roads routes, about 5,515 miles in all, with 259 curated stops. Every one follows two-lane highways instead of the interstate.

### What is the longest route in the Upper South?

Blue Ridge Parkway & the Smokies at about 400 miles (Roanoke → Cherokee (+ Smokies spurs)), a 3–5-day drive.

### Which Upper South route works for a weekend?

Old Salem to Mayberry: about 70 miles, 1 day, Winston-Salem → Mount Airy.

### Which states does the Upper South cover?

Its routes run through Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Maryland and Washington, DC.

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Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/regions/upper-south  
Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/)