Virginia road trips and scenic drives

16 back-roads routes touch Virginia, with 136 curated stops along them and 13 ready-made itineraries crossing the state.

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Routes through Virginia

Blue Ridge Parkway & the Smokies
America's longest slow road, southern half
Roanoke → Cherokee (+ Smokies spurs) · ~400 mi · 3–5 days · skips I-81 / I-40 / I-26
Outer Banks & the Sound Country
NC 12, two ferries and the Albemarle backwaters
Dismal Swamp → New Bern · ~300 mi · 3–4 days · skips I-95 (by 200 miles)
US 301: The Ghost Road
the interstate that time forgot
Emporia → Santee · ~290 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 (that's the point)
Bull Run to the Bloody Angle
The Northern Virginia Civil War loop
Loop from Alexandria · ~240 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-95 / I-66
US 58: The Last Capital Road
Martinsville to the Dismal Swamp
Martinsville → Suffolk · ~230 mi · 2 days · skips I-85
Skyline Drive & the Parkway
the Virginia ridgeline, end to end
Front Royal → Roanoke · ~225 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81 (running parallel below)
The Wilderness Road
Boone's gap and the first West
Bristol → Berea · ~220 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-75 / I-81
The Crooked Road
Virginia's mountain music trail
Bristol → Floyd · ~210 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81
The Valley Pike
US 11 down the Shenandoah
Winchester → Roanoke · ~200 mi · 2–3 days · skips I-81
US 11: The Valley Road South
the Great Wagon Road's last act
Roanoke → Bristol · ~150 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-81
Lee's Retreat
the last week of the war
Petersburg → Appomattox · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-85
The Northern Neck
Historyland Highway, the peninsula of presidents
Fredericksburg → Irvington · ~110 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95
The Booth Escape Route
twelve days in April 1865
Washington → Port Royal · ~95 mi · 1 day · skips I-95
US 13: The Eastern Shore
two counties, four centuries, one road
Cape Charles → Chincoteague · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-95 (by an entire bay)
VA 5 & the Colonial Parkway
plantation row to the first peninsula
Richmond → Yorktown · ~90 mi · 1–2 days · skips I-64
The Constitution Route & 231
Jefferson and Madison's neighborhood, then Virginia's prettiest road
Charlottesville → Sperryville · ~75 mi · 1–2 days · skips US 29

Scenic drives and parkways

3 of the Virginia routes follow a named parkway, trace, trail or scenic byway.

Ready-made itineraries that cross Virginia

Stories from Virginia

Where to Hear Live Music on the Crooked Road
Friday jamborees, Saturday dances and the mountain miles between

Other states: Alabama · Arkansas · Florida · Georgia · Kentucky · Louisiana · Mississippi · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · West Virginia.

Frequently asked questions

How many Virginia road trips are there, and how long do they take?

16 routes cross Virginia, from 1 day to 5 days each; driven back to back they add up to about 3,035 miles.

What is the longest drive in Virginia?

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

What is the best weekend drive in Virginia?

The Constitution Route & 231: about 75 miles, 1–2 days, Charlottesville → Sperryville.

Which neighboring states do Virginia routes continue into?

These routes carry on into North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina and Washington, DC.