Pennington Gap, VA

united states

Pennington Gap is a small Appalachian town of 1,800 in Virginia's far southwest corner, near the Kentucky border. The main route is US Highway 421, which runs east-west through the natural mountain gap that gives the town its name. From Big Stone Gap, it's a 15-mile drive west on US 58, while long-distance visitors typically use I-81 to I-40 west, then US 25E north through Tennessee. The town serves as a gateway to coal mining country and Daniel Boone National Forest, sitting in the same mountain pass that early settlers used to cross the Appalachians.