One of the best things about the state that I call home is that we have a wide variety of natural beauty and most of it can be visited for free or near free. One of those things is not unique to North Carolina, because the Blue Ridge Parkway extends quite a ways across NC and VA and it is very close to the Appalachian Trail, which extends well beyond that and almost the entire way up the East Coast, but many people would suggest that it is most special here because the seasons dictate that especially during this time of year, the scenery is going to be the best.
src
When autumn hits the leaves all turn and this really is something to see from an elevated position. Tons of people flock to the multitude of overlook points on this highway to have a look and take in the views. The Blue Ridge Parkway doesn't allow any commercial vehicles one the road so you will never be competing with a traffic jam up there as the only people that are allowed up there are people who are there for the nature. There is very little reason to try to use this road as a shortcut as well, because the highway systems in the valley are faster than the road itself for anyone that is trying to just go from point A to point B.
src
There are a lot of special aspects of this road but for someone like me that is so tired of literally anything becoming commercial and filled with ads, shops, and tourist traps, it is nice that the National Park Service "owns" the land around both sides of the road for the entirety of the Parkway and therefore prohibits the opening of any businesses and there is no advertising allowed at all. Finally! You can go somewhere in the world that isn't geared around constantly trying to sell you something.
This is the most visited national park system in the US and while I have no idea how they gather this data, there has only been a few years since it opened in 1946 that it wasn't the most visited National Park feature in the country.
While this is not really all that close to where I live, I will on occasion take a trip over to visit a college buddy that lives near the road and will make a day trip with him to some of the many trails and sightseeing places that are all over this wonderful road.
src
There's a bunch of waterfalls located near the roadway and the park system has installed trails for the most part that make it easy for you to get to them. Entry to all of these is also free and there isn't even anyone there trying to sell anything. People who try to set up temporary shops are quickly shut down and I just love the fact that this is one of the few places I am aware of that exists anywhere in the world where there aren't a bunch of annoying touts trying to sell you stuff around every turn. It's crazy to me that this has just become a way of life in that any time there is something that looks nice, people try to make money off of it.
Even though I am not a big fan of the government in a general sense, I can point to this and say that this is one of the few things that the government has actually done well.
The roads are not maintained in winter and it can get really cold and dangerous on the roads in the winter months. I know quite a few people that have gotten stuck up there and therefore they normally will close the parkway at the first sign of ice on the roads.
That's fine because there isn't really much reason to be up there if the roads are dangerous. I know a guy who has a house off of the parkway in Virginia, and he has to have a special permit, not to mention special tires on his truck, just to return to his own house at the end of the day.
src
This isn't something I get to visit very often unfortunately as the closest on ramp to the Parkway is nearly 300 miles from my house. I do make a point to head up there every time I visit my college roommate who lives in Asheville though, because they are just a stone's throw away from the entrance to one of the best sections of the entire Parkway. The headquarters for the entire park is in Asheville and I guess it is for this reason.
So if you ever find yourself in Virginia or North Carolina, it could be worth a look at this wonderful, and free, feature of the states. There aren't many free things left in the world after all.