I live 2 miles from the colonial parkway. It's a nice 3 lane wide road, so traffic is not a problem. The scenery is beautiful, although since you're next to rivers it can be a little bit windy.

The downside is that it's paved with "exposed aggregate concrete," i.e. concrete with all of the gravel exposed at the top. The roughest part is part of the way from Jamestown to Williamsburg. (only in that direction) Fortunately it's not that bad the rest of the way. Still, this is one of the reasons I got a steel/carbon Lemond rather than an aluminum frame on my roadbike.

If I only have an hour to ride, it's great to be able to hop onto the parkway and ride for a bit. If you're sensitive to rough surfaces, I wouldn't do it, but if they don't bother you much it's a great road.

Bruce