Blue Ridge Highlands

Blue Ridge Highlands covers the southwestern corner of Virginia where the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachian Plateau, and the Iron Mountains converge. Elevations climb above 5,000 feet at Mount Rogers — the highest point in the state — and the landscape stays cooler and wetter than the rest of Virginia, with hardwood forest, rhododendron thickets, and open mountain balds at the higher elevations. Grayson, Smyth, Washington, Carroll, Wythe, and Tazewell counties cover most of the region, anchored by Abingdon, Galax, Marion, Wytheville, and Damascus — the last a major hub on the Appalachian and Virginia Creeper trails. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the eastern edge. Trips here lean outdoor and music-cultural. Galax holds the Old Fiddlers’ Convention each August, Abingdon hosts the Barter Theatre and the Virginia Creeper trailhead, and the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area handles most of the serious hiking. The pace is slower than the Shenandoah Valley to the north — fewer crowds, longer driving distances, and stronger old-time and bluegrass traditions.