WanderLOVE Day Trip: Fancy Gap to Sparta

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 relaxing day trip that let’s you experience two of the greatest parts of the region: Blue Grass music and the Blue Ridge mountain. 

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 with hiking trails and picnic areas. 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.

 

General Info

Attractions, Blue Ridge Parkway, History/Heritage Trails, Scenic/Outdoors, Single-day

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