Driving Trip from Birmingham to Washington DC

This will be in October and hoping for some interesting scenery and places to stop by. We like to by-pass the Interstate except when we%26#39;re on a time limit and haven%26#39;t been north of Birmingham.

Any ideas/suggestions will be appreciated.

Driving Trip from Birmingham to Washington DC

You should consider the Blueridge Parkway:

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

Driving Trip from Birmingham to Washington DC

Agreed the Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive is worth the time to be included. Plan time to do stops in Shenandoah NP ( they have them described in a park guide you can pick up), and some wineries in Virginia (if that interests you.) There is a fairly large wine growers region along the PKWY and I-81; you can Google wineries in VA.

Most of this is all North of Roanoke.

Shenandoah is GORGEOUS and unspoiled.

We have made this drive and like to divide it up so it doesn%26#39;t take 3 days.

Charlottesville and Chattanooga are also great towns to stop in for a few hours or a meal. Both are easy in/out/back on the road.

Our favorite route would be...

Enter Birmingham area from I-20 west.

Take I-459 North (exit 106) AROUND Birmingham

to I-59 North (toward Gadsden) to Chattanooga,

I-75 North to Knoxville,

I-81 North to Roanoke, VA,

then the Parkway to Front Royal, VA.

Finally I-66 East to D.C.

DO NOT allow MapQuest or any one advising you talk you into going through Atlanta. Ther is A LOT more traffic, and a LOT less scenery.

I would go to randmcnally.com or your local AAA to get a specific map before you leave.

Rand Mcnally has up to date road construction info on interstates AND US Highways.

How long are you planning to stretch this trip?

(the part past BHM)

If you are going to do wineries ,get this map before you go and there are some great wines there. I particularly like the classic fruit wines from Hilltop. Get off below I-81 below I-64 and work your way up to Charlottesville thru wine country...You could go the Wintergreen -the big resort. We were just in Waynesboro and loved that part of Virginia

http://www.virginiawines.org/default.htm

Traveling from Birmingham to D. C., it%26#39;ll be best to take I-59 which connects to another interstate near Chattanooga. A scenic route you can take through NE Alabama is LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN PARKWAY

Here%26#39;s some Lookout Mountain Parkway info from www.alabamabyways.org (particulars I%26#39;ve added are in the parentheses).

The Lookout Mountain Parkway spans three states as it stretches across Lookout Mountain from Gadsden, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Within it%26#39;s 93-miles, one will find waterfalls (Noccalula), canyons (Little River), scenic brow vistas, unique towns (Mentone) and villages, state (DeSoto)and national parks and preserves (again, Little River Canyon) and many more natural wonders.

How many days do you have? You%26#39;ll be passing through all my most favourite areas of the southeast. :)

My suggested route: Birmingham on 1-59 %26amp; Lookout Mountain Parkway to Chattanooga, 1-75 and Cherohala Skyway to Cherokee, NC (through Topton, NC), Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive, and I-66 to D.C.