Attractions

Mabry Mill

Meadows of Dan, VA · Virginia Blue RidgeFreeFree; the Parkway charges no entry fee

About

Ed Mabry's gristmill stands at milepost 176 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, with its overshot wheel and wooden flume doubled upside down in the still millpond. More people photograph it than anything else on the Parkway, and in autumn the red maples behind it turn. Old-time crafts demonstrations run along the trail past the mill. The restaurant next door serves buckwheat pancakes.

Highlights

Most-photographed spot on the Blue Ridge ParkwayWorking water-powered gristmill mirrored in its millpondOld-time crafts demonstrationsBuckwheat pancakes at the mill restaurantBlue Ridge Parkway milepost 176

Getting there

Milepost 176, Blue Ridge Parkway, Meadows of Dan, VA 24120

Related places

Natural Bridge Attractions

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge, VA · Shenandoah Valley$

You reach the 200-foot arch at Natural Bridge, Virginia, by a 137-step stairway, so leave the stroller in the car. Thomas Jefferson called it "the most sublime of Nature's works"…

Peaks of Otter Mountains

Peaks of Otter

Bedford, VA · Virginia Blue RidgeFree

Sharp Top overlooks Abbott Lake and the Peaks of Otter Lodge, 10 miles from Bedford, Virginia. The trail to its 3,875-foot summit is 1.6 strenuous miles. A seasonal bus gets…

McAfee Knob Mountains

McAfee Knob

Catawba, VA · RoanokeFree

From the ledge on McAfee Knob, 3,197 feet up Catawba Mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia, the view runs 270 degrees. The hike starts across Route 311 from the lot and follows…

More in Virginia

Others worth the drive in Virginia.

All of Virginia →
Luray Caverns Caves

Luray Caverns

Luray, VA · Shenandoah Valley$$

Andrew Campbell and his 13-year-old nephew Quint went down into Luray Caverns by rope in 1878, after cold air rose from a sinkhole in Luray, Virginia. Formations here grow about…

Shenandoah National Park Mountains

Shenandoah National Park

Front Royal, VA · Blue Ridge Mountains$

Shenandoah National Park is about 75 miles from Washington, D.C., and its one public road, Skyline Drive, runs 105 miles south from Front Royal, Virginia. End to end it takes…

Part of these collections