Scenic route from Charleston to Asheville?
October 16, 2010 4:41 PM   Subscribe

I'm driving from Charleston, SC to Asheville, NC tomorrow and would prefer to take a scenic route. Any suggestions?

Suggestions for stuff to see along the way are welcome too, but I'm mainly interested in route recommendations. Thanks!
posted by The Dutchman to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
According to my dad, going on the way on 26 is your best bet for a reasonably scenic drive.
posted by estlin at 6:16 PM on October 16, 2010


Okay. Not in a hurry, I hope.

Do this: Take US 17 south out of Charleston, now take SC 61 north to US 78. Then Take 78 West to US 321 and follow it north to Columbia. That's a great scenic route, you'll pass river plantations, horse farms, cotton fields, a bee farm with a petting zoo (really) and lots of little towns in the sand hills along the Edisto River.

Now you have more options, you can take US 76 from Columbia to Greeneville or get on US 176 to Spartanburg. Both are nice drives thru mill towns and along the old railroad paths. If you go to Greeneville, I'd suggest taking US 276 over the mountain, it's the poor man's Deal's Gap. I'm not as up on the NC roads, but a reasonable atlas or GPS should be able to connect the last few gaps and get you to US 64 and US 25 which gets you right on into Asheville, with minimal exposure to interstate boredom.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:34 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


From Charleston up to about I85 or so, the route isn't particularly scenic as I recall, but I would still take that highway, and just stay on 26 up to Asheville. It gets pretty when you get into the SC and then NC mountains.

How long are you willing to make this drive? Once you get into the mountains, a secondary route can double your time.
posted by bluedaisy at 7:19 PM on October 16, 2010


Take 26 to Spartanburg, get off on I-85 North for a few exits, then take Hwy 221 North to around Linville where you can get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head South towards Asheville.
posted by ijoyner at 5:41 AM on October 18, 2010


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