Road trips by city

Road trips from Raleigh

22 back-roads routes start within a 4.5-hour drive of Raleigh, including 2 day trips and 17 weekend drives; 0 ready-made itineraries begin nearby.

Drive times are estimates to the nearer end of each route (straight-line miles plus a quarter, at 50 mph); the atlas itself never routes you onto an interstate once the drive begins.

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Day trips from Raleigh

• The Inner Banks
  About 2 h 15 min to Washington
  Washington → Ocracoke (via Swan Quarter ferry) · ~120 mi · 1–2 days · skips US 64 bypass
• Old Salem to Mayberry
  About 2 h 20 min to Winston-Salem
  Winston-Salem → Mount Airy · ~70 mi · 1 days · skips I-74

Weekend road trips from Raleigh

• Gold, Clay & Longleaf
  Starts in Raleigh
  Raleigh → Columbia · ~250 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-85 / I-77
• Sherman's Carolinas Campaign
  About 40 min to Durham
  Columbia → Durham · ~280 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 / I-40
• US 301: The Ghost Road
  About 2 h 10 min to Emporia
  Emporia → Santee · ~290 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 (that's the point)
• US 58: The Last Capital Road
  About 2 h 20 min to Martinsville
  Martinsville → Suffolk · ~230 mi · 2 days · skips I-85
• Lee's Retreat
  About 2 h 45 min to Appomattox
  Petersburg → Appomattox · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-85
• The Crooked Road
  About 3 h 5 min to Floyd
  Bristol → Floyd · ~210 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81
• Skyline Drive & the Parkway
  About 3 h 10 min to Roanoke
  Front Royal → Roanoke · ~225 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81 (running parallel below)
• The Valley Pike
  About 3 h 10 min to Roanoke
  Winchester → Roanoke · ~200 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81
• US 11: The Valley Road South
  About 3 h 10 min to Roanoke
  Roanoke → Bristol · ~150 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-81
• VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway
  About 3 h 30 min to Richmond
  Richmond → Yorktown · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64
• The Constitution Route & 231
  About 3 h 55 min to Charlottesville
  Charlottesville → Sperryville · ~75 mi · 1–2 days · skips US 29
• The Midland Trail
  About 4 h 10 min to White Sulphur Springs
  White Sulphur Springs → Charleston · ~120 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64
• The Quiet Zone
  About 4 h 20 min to Lewisburg
  Lewisburg → Petersburg, WV · ~160 mi · 2 days · skips I-79 (by 60 miles)
• US 52: The Mine Wars Road
  About 4 h 25 min to Bluefield
  Bluefield → Williamson · ~100 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-77 (by a county)
• SC 11: The Cherokee Foothills
  About 4 h 25 min to Gaffney
  Gaffney → Walhalla · ~115 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-85
• US 13: The Eastern Shore
  About 4 h 25 min to Cape Charles
  Cape Charles → Chincoteague · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95 (by an entire bay)
• The Northern Neck
  About 4 h 30 min to Irvington
  Fredericksburg → Irvington · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95

Named parkways and scenic byways within reach

• Blue Ridge Parkway & the Smokies
  About 3 h 10 min to Roanoke
  Roanoke → Cherokee (+ Smokies spurs) · ~400 mi · 3–5 days · skips I-81 / I-40 / I-26
• Skyline Drive & the Parkway
  About 3 h 10 min to Roanoke
  Front Royal → Roanoke · ~225 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81 (running parallel below)
• VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway
  About 3 h 30 min to Richmond
  Richmond → Yorktown · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64

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