Blue Ridge Parkway
Georgia and North Carolina

The most pleasant time to drive through the Smoky Mountains is in the fall when the air has cooled and the fall harvest season is in full swing.

The route: Leave from Atlanta for a charming,130-mile route that brings you to Franklin, North Carolina. Take highway 23 from Atlanta to Dillard, and from there follow Route 106 into Highlands. Head North on Highway 28 from Highlands to Franklin.

Roadside attractions: Jae-Mor Farms in Gainesville is a great location to hunt for the perfect pumpkin and ripest apples. Next, stop at Toccoa Falls in the Chattahoochee National Forest to look down into the gorge. Frankin, the self-proclaimed "gem capital of the world," boasts enough mineral shops to satisfy any rockhound. Visit www.blueridgeparkway.org for more information.