Fall Foliage Driving Tour

Franklin County

From Boones Mill on Rt 220 (about 20 minutes South of Roanoke):

Turn west onto Rt. 739 (Bethlehem Road) on the north side of the Shell Station. As you travel along Rt 739, Cahas Mountain is on the right. Near Fairmont Baptist Church Rt. 739 turns right, but you should stay on Bethlehem Rd., which is now Rt. 643.
At Callaway Road (Rt 641) turn right. The Blue Ridge Mountains can be seen in the background as you drive to Callaway.
At the A & A Market in Callaway, stay on Callaway Rd, which now is Rt. 602.
At 0.2 miles, turn left onto Rt. 642 (Foothills Rd.) at the Piedmont Presbyterian Church.
Follow Foothills Road until it intersects with Five Mile Mountain Rd. (Rt.748)
Turn right onto Five Mile Mountain Rd. (Rt. 748). The Blue Ridge Mountains can be seen in the background.
At Rt. 640 (Turner’s Creek Rd.), you have the option of (1) turning left and traveling to Ferrum or (2) staying on Five Mile Mountain Road (now Rt. 640), which will take you into Floyd County.

At Ferrum you can visit the Blue Ridge Institute and/or Ferrum College, both of which are located on Rt. 40 to the left of the intersection of Turner’s Creek Rd. and Rt. 40. Note, at the Phoebe Needles Center, Turner’s Creek Road changes to Rt. 748. From Ferrum, take Rt. 40 east to Rocky Mount and Rt. 220 north back to Boones Mill to complete the loop or take a ride on Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, The Crooked Road, on Rt. 40 west.
You can pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway off Rt. 640, approximately 1.5 miles from the Floyd/Franklin county line. Left (south) on the Parkway goes to Maybry’s Mill and points south, and right goes back to Roanoke.