WE ARE A COUPLE IN OUR LATE 60S PLANNING TO DRIVE TO WASHINGTON D.C. IN MAY 2016. WE'D LIKE TO DRIVE THROUGH AT LEAST ONE NATIONAL PARK ALONG THE WAY. WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT DRIVE FROM NASHVILLE TO WASHINGTON. COULD YOU ADVISE ON THIS ROUTE, SUCH AS WHERE TO SPEND NIGHTS, THINGS TO SEE? WE HAVE 5-10 DAYS, AND MORE IF NEEDED.
M. TEO, OATLEY
Even five days is quite long to devote to the 1070 kilometre drive between Nashville and the national capital. Since you seem to have plenty of time in hand, and if scenery is a priority, you could consider a longer drive along the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a classic, ambling drive along 715 kilometres of quiet road that takes you through some of the loveliest landscapes in the American south between Natchez in southern Mississippi and Nashville. As well as a beautiful drive, the parkway is one of the touchstones of U.S. history, a natural corridor through the Old Southwest as it was known at the time, used by Indian tribes and pioneers and designated as a postal route as early as 1801. You can find plenty of information to help plan your itinerary on the Natchez Trace Parkway website www.scenictrace.com. The site also has a handy Visitors Guide available for download.
If you wanted to extend your trip even more and sample another great American city you could fly into New Orleans, spend a couple of days there then pick up a hire car and start driving north to Natchez.
Four nights is a sensible minimum for driving the Natchez Trace. If that's too long, you might revert to your Nashville-Washington D.C. plan and consider the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, which runs for 170 kilometres along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Skyline Drive involves just a slight detour of Highway 81, the main route you'd be taking between Nashville and Washington D.C. The Skyline Drive website visitskylinedrive.org has plenty of information on the route and places of interest along the way.
