Fulfill your WanderLOVE by starting on the Blue Ridge Parkway around milepost 203. Book a stay at Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground. FGCC offers a choice of RV spaces, one-room camping cabins, motel rooms and tent sites. Make sure to take in their official Virginia LOVE sign that celebrates the Parkway from Mabry Mill to the north to the Blue Ridge Music Center to the south.

From the campground, you can take a relaxing day trip that will take you to two of the best features of the region: Blue Grass music and the Blue Ridge mountains.

To the Blue Ridge Music Center

Travelling south on the Parkway from the campground, stop at the Granite Quarry and Piedmont overlooks on your way to the Blue Ridge Music Center. Between May and October, you can enjoy the museum that showcases the history of Blue Grass music in the region. Thursday through Sunday local musicians give mid-day concerts from noon to 4 pm. The Music Center also has trails that take you into unspoiled forests and meadows.

Cumberland Knob

A little further south on the Parkway close to the North Carolina/Virginia line at milepost 217.5, you’ll find Cumberland Knob Recreation Area. where you can enjoy a picnic, hikes and great views. A short drive beyond Cumberland Knob is the Fox Hunter’s overlook.

Sparta, NC

Continue travelling south until you see the signs for the town of Sparta, NC. Exit the Parkway and drive through rolling hills and farmland until you enter downtown Sparta. Visit the local boutiques and restaurants like Muddy Creek Cafe and Becca’s Backwoods Bean Coffee Shop. Make sure to try some local brews at Laconia Ale Works.

Doughton Recreation Area

Beyond the exit for Sparta, you’ll find the exit for Roaring Gap, NC that will take you to Stone Mountain State Park. There are several overlooks that are all worth stopping at to take in the view. Located at 238.5, Doughton Recreation Area is the largest along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are trails, an historic cabin, a picnic area, campgrounds, visitor center and, in 2021, a restaurant.