No. 3 national park pick: Blue Ridge Parkway

At most national parks, you arrive to camp, hike, relax. One of our rarest parks is all about getting there. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a globally significant, inspiringly scenic meander on the crest of America’s most storied mountain range. Start with the 100-mile Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, add the parkway’s 469 miles and end atop Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and you have an Appalachian Trail for travelers. That’s 14 hours at the speed limit -- an easy week trip. Bite-size portions create fewer mobile options.

The billboard-free parkway or Skyline Drive offer and campgrounds, historic inns, visitor centers, log cabins in the mist and hundreds of overlooks -- many with easy “leg-stretcher” hikes perfect for families.

The East’s highest mountains line the road in national forests and state parks, but adjacent areas offer one-stop shopping for everything from whitewater rafting to major mountain attractions such as Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C.

Best of all, this is much more than just a long drive. The encounter with America’s first frontier could end up transforming your family as much as your odometer.

AGE APPROPRIATE

All age ranges. All the parks offer the junior ranger programs for ages 5 to 12. You can even fish with a ranger at Abbott Lake at Virginia’s Peaks of Otter, Milepost 86.

TOO MUCH FUN

Lake paddling, whitewater rafting, river tubing. Museums for crafts, minerals and mountain music. Trails to peaks, placid streams, plunging waterfalls. Near Great Smoky, there are shops and touristy stops at tastefully done Gatlinburg. Cherokee’s Native American cultural attractions are entertainingly educational. Drive through the Smokies’ Cataloochee Valley to see early settlements and reintroduced elk.

BEST ADVENTURE

Take to the trails. Adventurous teens can hike over MacRae Peak on Grandfather Mountain, where ladders lead up cliffs. Toddle to a mountain stream and lakeshore at Price Lake in North Carolina. See big water and a canyon at Linville Falls, a grist mill at Mabry Mill, Va.

KEEP 'EM HAPPY

Near Jefferson, N.C., go tubing down the National Wild & Scenic New River. In Asheville, raft the family-friendly French Broad River, or take the Great Smoky Mountain Railway through Nantahala Gorge … and raft back! Special kid’s theme excursions are available (yep, Thomas). Beat the valley heat near Brevard, N.C., at Sliding Rock, a natural waterslide. Take in Tweetsie Railroad near Blowing Rock.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Wildflowers are best in May. The last third of June finds rhododendron in full bloom. Fall foliage flames in late October to the north, midmonth in the higher south (be sure to book lodging months in advance).

AVOID THE CROWDS

May, early June, late August and September are most lightly traveled. Best drive times: early morning (have a late breakfast), evening (have an early dinner) -- but watch for wildlife.

CAN'T MISS

Icon numero uno -- the Linn Cove Viaduct, a sinuous span that arcs around Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Mabry Mill is at Milepost 176 in Virginia --  but claimed by postcards in five states!. Climb the “summit roads” -- mountain-climbing drives along the way. Drive to the peak of Grandfather, Milepost 305, to walk across the Mile-High Swinging Bridge and explore habitats for otters, deer, bears and eagles. At Milepost 355, take the side trip to Mount Mitchell, the East’s highest peak (and tent campground and restaurant, for lunch). A spiraling ramp caps Clingman’s Dome, highest road in the Great Smokies.

BARGAIN LODGING/DINING

The main lodges -- Big Meadows and Skyland on the Drive, Peaks of Otter, Bluffs and Mount Pisgah on the Parkway -- are historic, or scenic, or both, and reasonably priced for lodging and dining. For hearty, mountain-tinged food, don’t miss the Dan’l Boone Inn in Boone, N.C.

INSIDE TRACK

Culture! Try summer weekend mountain music concerts at the Blue Ridge Music Center, Milepost 213 near Galax, Va. Enjoy drama under the stars during the Daniel Boone story “Horn in the West,” yes, in Boone, N.C. (mid-June to mid-August), and the saga of the Cherokee Indian exodus, “Unto These Hills” (early June to mid-August).

-- Randy Johnson, contributing editor