Keep in mind the BRP or SD could be closed for weather too. I would have a back up plan in place for other things to do where you decide to stay. Waynesville puts you near Asheville, visit Biltmore House and there are a number of museums there. From there the BRP heads to Cherokee in one direction, Boone & Blowing Rock in the other. If the BRP is closed you can take Hwy 19 to Cherokee which is also scenic or head over to Brevard & Bryson City.

We have went to Blowing Rock a few different years for Christmas. It typically has snow at that time but not always. Its a very pretty area. Moses Cone Manor is where I made by first snow man and the first place I saw more than a flurry of snow having grown up in Florida.

For more museums and technology you would get more of that up in DC, not so much in the mountains.

Do be aware of possible weather issues that could delay your plans, and have a backup plan in case you can’t get to your chosen destinations

If you have decent weather, one of the benefits of driving Skyline Drive in winter is that, without the leaves on many of the trees, you can get some great, far reaching and open views at most of the viewpoints. Also, there won't be the traffic including those slow RVs that you get all summer long.

Not only will there be no lodging inside the park during December, which you know about, none of the in park facilities will be open so make sure you are gassed up and have picnic food, or plan to take exits to smaller towns for meals, etc.

We stayed at a lovely B&B a few miles outside Charlottesville. I'm loath to name it was it was even a few years before the start of the pandemic, so it could have gone downhill or have closed in the meanwhile. However, it's location was SE of the city, just beyond Monticello's location, and that's one of the winery areas of VA and several of the wineries also offer B&B accommodations at different price points, just have a bit of a search. Most are small, privately run so won't appear on TA listings/reviews or resources like booking.com. There might be an innkeeper's directory website for VA you could use to search for those smaller places.

Yes, you do need a back up plan for that time of year as both SD and BRP tend to follow the ridge line so are the high points of those areas. Interstates and other major highways are more likely to be free flowing and not icy after overnight frosts, too. Places to consider for poor weather sightseeing include Mount Vernon, the aforementioned Monticello, and actually Charlottesville for UVA, etc. Biltmore, of course - as mentioned and several of the smaller towns will have stores open for browsing. Downtown Asheville is likely to be more lively, too.

SWT

You need to see what the weather will be like.

Outside of some random home rental or cabin rental there really isn’t lodging on the parkway. Food/gas/ lodging are going to vbe found 8n the valleys along 81 on the west or along US 29 on the east.

H@ve you done Charlottesville? Smokey mountains?

In Virginia you have university towns. Charlottesville has univ of Virginia and it has Jefferson Monticello . James madison univ is in Harrisonburg along 81. Virginia tech is in Blacksburg on 81. These university coukd be having various arts performances like a university band/ orchestra playing holiday music or thry are doing a musical/ play.

There are other universities besides the ones I mentioned. In Knoxville is univ of tennessee. In Asheville is a univ of North Carolina system campus, liberty univ in Lynchburg on 29.

Also in Asheville is the biltmore.

Check out the Shenandoah National Park Facebook page for road closures due to weather or winter maintenance: https://www.facebook.com/shenandoahnps

For the Blue Ridge Parkway check into road closures on their website: https://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm

In addition to ice and snow from the clouds, freezing fog can be a problem. They do not snowplow the parkway since it is not an essential road and they will just swing the big gates shut and close off sections of it as needed for weather or maintenance. They do a fair amount of road maintenance in the winter.

And just regular non-freezing fog can be a problem too for driving.

Snow is not the usual in the area, but it can occur at any time. We don't get snow every Christmas (you got lucky bornwithwheels). In fact we mostly DON'T get snow at Christmas, but it is always a possibility.

If y'all might be interested in skiing or tubing, etc, there are some pretty decent slopes in VA and NC and they will *make* snow with big snow guns if Mother Nature doesn't provide. So even if there's no natural snow the slopes will have some. Check current ski conditions in WV, VA, NC, TN, MD here: https://www.skisoutheast.com

Charlottesville is the southern terminus of the SD so look at http://www.visitcharlottesville.org for local intel.

Also, look at a paper Va. roadmap. There are a variety of roads around there like the SD that he can fulfill his fix for hillside driving in beautiful Appalachian splendour.

Hi

We stayed at a lovely B&B called Mountain Home which is in Front Royal, just five minutes drive from the entrance to Shenandoah National Park and the Drive. The hosts at the B&B were wonderfully welcoming and knowledgable about the area. You can see more about our trip and where we stayed here:

https://www.wildrumpustravel.co.uk/destinations/shenandoah

Have fun :-)

Be aware, if we get even a few inches of snow or icy precipitation it will shut dow Charlottesville and the surrounding areas.

You might consider Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria

https://www.gravesmountain.com/