Road trip – A 8-day itinerary from Shenandoah Valley to the Carolina Piedmont

Last April, we hit the road again with our converted camping van for a short road trip in the United States. Much like we did last year when we drove to Savannah, Georgia, we headed to another city in the southern United States: Charlotte, North Carolina.

Why Charlotte? We were curious to see this city, the most populated in North Carolina. But also and above all, going to Charlotte gave us the opportunity to drive through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and thus have access to multiple hiking options, including the trails of Shenandoah National Park.

These 8 days quickly allowed me to realize that we would have needed much more time to explore everything I would have liked to explore. As someone who loves mountains and beautiful trails, I have been well served, but I know that I have only seen a very small part of everything that Shenandoah National Park, the Blue Mountains Ridge and the Carolina Piedmont have to offer.

And in the end, we even ran out of time to explore Charlotte! So I know I will come back one day. But in the meantime, here is our 8-day itinerary, from the Shenandoah Valley to the Charlotte area.

Day 1 – Ottawa, ON to Winchester, VA

That fist day, we drove about ten hours to get to Winchester, Virginia. Traffic along I-81 (which we followed from the Canadian border into Virginia) was pretty heavy, so it was with a sigh of relief that we arrived at this small town, considered like the northern entrance of the Shenandoah Valley.

We did our grocery shopping there to prepare for a few nights of camping, then we simply spent the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.

Day 2 – Winchester, VA to Shenandoah National Park, VA

Winchester is located about 30 minutes from Front Royal, the northern gateway to Shenandoah National Park. Our original plan was to drive up to Front Royal and then follow the famous Skyline Drive to Big Meadows Campground, our campsite for the night.

Unfortunately, a wildfire the previous week had led to the temporary closure of a small portion of Skyline Drive. So we had to do a detour and use the Thornton Gap entrance, further south, to access the national park. Despite everything, we were still able to drive a part of the Skyline Drive, an experience that completely blew me away.

We also took advantage of our visit to do a little hiking, including hiking to the summit of Hawksbill, the highest mountain in Shenandoah National Park. For the night, we stayed at Big Meadows Campground, for a first ever camping experience in a US national park!

Day 3 – Shenandoah National Park, VA to Pilot Mountain State Park, NC

We reluctantly left Shenandoah National Park (we’ll definitely come back one day) to get back on I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley and head south towards North Carolina. But before leaving Virginia, we stopped at a state park that I wanted to visit: Natural Bridge State Park.

Natural Bridge is a 61-metre (200-feet) high rock arch that is considered the largest limestone arch in North America. Even though I had seen photos online, it was impressive to see in real life!

After this highly interesting visit, we afterwards continued driving south, eventually leaving I-81 to take I-77 and cross the border into North Carolina. We went to another state park, where we would spend the night this time: Pilot Mountain State Park, near Winston-Salem.

Day 4 – Pilot Mountain State Park, NC to Charlotte, NC

Like Natural Bridge that we had visited the day before, Pilot Mountain State Park also highlights a particular geological formation: a mountain topped with a distinctive quartzite knob, visible from miles around. In addition to a campground, the state park has many hiking trails, which we spent a lot of time exploring.

In fact, we loved Pilot Mountain State Park so much that we spent more time there than planned. This left us less time to visit Charlotte, which we got to in the evening. But between the forest and the city, we were very happy to have finally decided to spend more time in the forest.

Day 5 – Charlotte, NC to Kings Mountain State Park, SC

Again that day we decided we were more interested in spending time on hiking trails than in downtown Charlotte. So we headed towards Crowders Mountain State Park, located about forty minutes from the city. There we hiked to the top of the mountain that gives its name to the state park.

After lunch, we drove a few miles south, where we crossed the border into South Carolina. We planned to camp at Kings Mountain State Park, but first we stopped at the nearby Kings Mountain National Military Park. This former historic battlefield has an interpretive trail that allows you to learn more about this place which was a turning point during the American Revolutionary War.

Once the visit to the National Military Park was complete, we headed to Kings Mountain State Park, where we would spend the next two nights.

Day 6 – Kings Mountain State Park, SC

Kings Mountain State Park is a state park that showcases the forest ecosystem of the Carolina Piedmont. There are also kilometers and kilometers of trails, which we spent a good part of the day hiking.

This state park was the perfect place to take a break from the road and enjoy some of the South Carolina heat!

Day 7 – Kings Mountain State Park, SC to Roanoke, VA

After a successful stay at Kings Mountain State Park, we needed to get back on the road to start heading north. We drove through North Carolina again, cross the border into Virginia, then were back onto I-81, and after a few hours of driving, we arrived in Roanoke.

This small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains has no shortage of hiking options, but since we were a little tired from the road, we were looking for a hike that wouldn’t be too long nor too complicated to access. We finally opted for the trail leading to Buzzards Rock, in the Read Mountain Preserve. This charming trail leading to a beautiful viewpoint over the Roanoke Valley was one of my favourites of our road trip.

We spent the night at Twisted Track Brewpub, a Roanoke brewery that is part of the Harvest Hosts network.

Day 8 – Roanoke, VA to Ottawa, ON

We continued our journey north. Since this road trip allowed us to drive through West Virginia for the very first time, I wanted to take a detour on the way back so we could stop at Harpers Ferry. This historic village is one of the most visited sites in the state. Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, it is not only a magnificent place full of history, but there are also several hiking trails (including the famous Appalachian Trail). Perfect place to end our road trip!

Initially, we had planned to continue our route to Pennsylvania, spend the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, and cross the Canadian border the next day. But the weather forecast predicted snow the next day, so we preferred to do the rest of the route in one go.

We arrived home very late, but really happy with this road trip! It was, once again, a nice reminder that there are so many beautiful places to explore!