readers' choice awards 2003

Southern Living, Spring 2004

You weighed in on your favorites, and we tallied the results. Here are the winners.

EACH YEAR, WE ASK YOU to tell us your favorite places in the South to dine, play, visit, and stay. Then we compile the results to find the top choices in each category of our Southern Living Readers' Choice Awards. Your ballot also serves as your entry in a drawing for a fabulous trip. * The 2004 ballot can be found online at www.southernliving.com (AOL Keyword: Southern Living), so be sure to visit the site and fill in your favorites. * Some places have consistently popped to the top of their categories since we began the awards eight years ago. Here are three perennial winners and the reasons why our readers keep voting for them year after year.

Blue Ridge ParkwayFavorite Scenic Drive

Cruising along the Blue Ridge Parkway feels a lot like riding on top of the world. Stretching 469 miles from North Carolina into Virginia, the scenic two-lane road skims the backbone of some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

The parkway's 35 and 45 m.p.h. speed limits force you to relax and enjoy the spectacular sights along the way. Overlooks pull you like magnets, presenting panoramic views that often peek through an early morning veil of blue haze. Hiking trails also beckon. Some lead to more mountain vistas, while others end at the cool tumble and splash of waterfalls.

No towns infringe on the route, but plenty of places invite you to stop. North of Asheville, North Carolina, you'll find the Folk Art Center, the main gallery for the Southern Highland Craft Guild; Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain (6,684 feet) east of the Mississippi; and the Linn Cove Viaduct, a one-of-a-kind bridge that arcs around the perimeter of Grandfather Mountain.

One of the most popular spots is Craggy Gardens (milepost 363.4369.6), especially in june when pink and purple rhododendron blossoms blanket the rugged terrain. Another is Mabry Mill (milepost 176.1), where you can watch a blacksmith at work and buy fresh stone-ground cornmeal.

Places to stay add memories to the journey. Peaks of Otter Lodge and Restaurant, overlooking Abbott Lake, sits just off the scenic highway near Bedford, Virginia (1-800-542-5927 or www.peaksofotter.com). Chetola Mountain Resort in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, with its shake roof and stacked-stone walls, embraces a country-lodge atmosphere (1-800243-8652 orwww.chetola.com). Balsam Mountain Inn, about 35 miles southwest of Asheville, dates to 1908 and simply oozes hospitality (1-800224-9498 or www.balsaminn.com).

The parkway remains open yearround, but sections can be closed in winter and early spring due to snow and ice. The best time to travel it is between May and November.

For more information contact Visitor Information, Blue Ridge Parkway at (828) 298-0398 or www.nps.gov/blri.

Gatlinburg-

Favorite Mountain Destination

Whether you dream of long hikes in the mountains or hours of man-made fun, Gatlinburg provides some of the best. High on the list of places to visit in this town, Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies brings the ocean and its critters inland. Another must-see, Christus Gardens portrays the life of Jesus in dioramas, narration, and music. Crafts galleries, especially the one for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, can keep shoppers occupied for hours. Then there are the candy kitchens with their sweet temptations.

Don't miss the Aerial Tramway that ferries passengers from downtown to the top of Mount Harrison, site of Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park. Even in summer, the trip is worth it, for the view as well as for the chance to careen down the park's Alpine Slide.

For a walk on the wild side, slip over into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hundreds of miles of hiking and horse trails lace the park's 520,000 acres. Many of them begin on the fringes of Gatlinburg. The most scenic include Laurel Falls Trail (an easy 2.5-miles, round-trip), Grotto Falls Trail (an easy 2.4 miles, round-trip), and Rainbow Falls Trail (a moderateto-strenuous 5.5 miles).

Clingman's Dome, the highest point along the Appalachian Trail, is easy to reach. You can drive most of the way, then hike the half-mile, paved trail to the top. On a really clear day, the view stretches for 100 miles.

To sample the park without ever having to get out of the car, follow the 5-mile Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, which begins just outside Gatlinburg. Or take the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop Road, where you'll see wildlife and some of the historic buildings that pepper the park.

Area accommodations range from downtown hotels and motor lodges to cozy cabins and charming chalets that hug the mountainsides. Dining options include all-day breakfast at the Log Cabin Pancake House, a dinner of panfried trout at the Park Grill, and a tender steak at The Peddler Restaurant.

For more information contact the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-900-4148, or visit www. gatlinburg.com.

Callaway-

Favorite Public Gardens

When we asked readers to name their favorite in this category, the response was unequivocal. A perennial winner, Callaway outnumbered, by far, the other gardens in the South. That sweep comes as no surprise, considering everything there is to see and do at this celebrated Georgia landmark.