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Not too way back whereas touring across the east coast in our camper van, we determined to take a couple of days and eventually discover a part of the well-known Blue Ridge Parkway—and to say the drive was superb is an understatement. The Parkway, established in 1936, spans 469 miles of North Carolina and Virginia–from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to Shenandoah National Park.
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway offers you an unimaginable have a look at what makes this area of the United States so particular. After our journey, we positively perceive why it’s often known as “America’s Favorite Drive.” We cherished it a lot that we wished to write down this text to share a few of our suggestions and enable you to plan your personal journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Blue Ridge Parkway Travel Guide
When to Visit Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is mostly open and accessible all 12 months spherical, and every season provides a novel and exquisite expertise. However, you’ll need to take into account climate circumstances in the course of the totally different instances of 12 months to find out while you’d prefer to discover the Parkway.
There is a wide range of elevation alongside the Parkway, from slightly below 650 toes to over 6,000 toes. With the various elevation comes totally different climate relying on the season and placement.
Spring is mostly the season with probably the most unpredictable climate, particularly in the course of the month of March. If you’re traversing the Parkway throughout spring, anticipate huge swings in temperature and common precipitation (together with snow).
Summer months see warmth and humidity alongside Blue Ridge, though the excessive elevation of many areas supplies a pleasant cooling impact. Rain and thunderstorms are additionally frequent throughout summer time, and excessive winds can generally result in street closures attributable to downed bushes.
Fall is the driest season on the Blue Ridge Parkway. With heat days and cooler nights, it may be one of the nice instances of 12 months to discover America’s Favorite Drive, particularly when you’re looking for out the gorgeous colours of the altering leaves.
Winter brings snow and ice to the area (sometimes beginning in November), particularly on the Parkway’s increased elevations. This may cause components of the path to be shut down so you must plan forward and maintain an in depth eye on the forecast. While there are sections of the Parkway which are gated and might subsequently be closed off throughout harmful circumstances, different components are ungated so will probably be as much as you to find out if it’s protected to proceed. Also take into account that the Parkway’s campgrounds are all closed throughout winter months so that you’ll want to search out various lodging when you go in the course of the offseason.
You may encounter development or upkeep tasks (just like the clearing of vegetation on the aspect of the street) alongside the Parkway all year long which might result in closures and delays. We advocate checking the National Park Service web site for present street circumstances earlier than heading out. We additionally encourage you to cease by one of many customer facilities alongside the Parkway to speak with the rangers who can mark a map with any present closures (that is what we did originally of our journey and it was very useful).
Things to Do Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
While some might imagine the Blue Ridge Parkway is only a technique of getting from one level to a different, that couldn’t be farther from the reality. There is a ton to see and do alongside this historic route and you’ll spend days exploring it. Here are simply a number of the factors of curiosity we skilled, and a few others that you could be need to add to your itinerary.
Enjoy the Drive
This could also be an apparent one, however merely driving alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway and taking within the surrounding magnificence is a vacation spot in itself. While you might not have time to do the whole Parkway or make many stops alongside the best way, you may take pleasure in smaller sections by means of totally different entry factors alongside the route which yow will discover on the Parkway map.
For our journey, we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC (at milepost 384 to be actual) and took it north to mile marker 0 close to Shenandoah National Park. While we wished we’d had time to drive the whole Parkway, the chunk we did do was value each mile and we stay up for doing the remainder of it sooner or later.
Regardless of the place you begin your Blue Ridge Parkway drive, it’s value making a cease on the Visitor Center and Headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina to be taught extra in regards to the Parkway, take a break and converse with the park rangers for suggestions and ideas.
Keep in thoughts that driving every 30 miles on the Parkway sometimes takes about an hour, with a most velocity restrict of 45 mph. There are additionally no fuel stations alongside the Parkway itself, however there are locations to gas up within the surrounding communities. We averaged about 11 miles per gallon alongside the Parkway in our camper van as a result of winding nature of the street and its steep grades.
If you’re driving an RV, you’ll additionally need to test the heights of the Parkway’s 26 tunnels (which account for 36% of all street tunnels present in U.S. nationwide parks) to make sure your rig can match by means of them. If the clearance isn’t excessive sufficient to your car, you may all the time hop off the Parkway to keep away from the tunnels and get again on additional down the street. We additionally encountered periodic tree branches that protrude into the roadway. They have been excessive sufficient to not impede most smaller autos, however we needed to navigate round some in our RV.
There are over 300 scenic overlooks the place you may pull over to soak within the unimaginable views that make this rather more than a typical roadway. We discovered ourselves feeling further fortunate to be driving in our Class B van which has a roof deck, permitting us to climb on prime of the van for much more of a hen’s eye view. No matter how a lot of the Parkway you drive, or what number of (or few) stops you’re capable of make alongside the best way, we assure the drive is without doubt one of the finest you’ll ever take.
Safety Tips: Be certain to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway with care. The velocity restrict is generally 45 mph (however drops to 25 in some areas). There are additionally some steep grades, slender street shoulders, and plenty of curves that require attentive driving. We additionally noticed a superb variety of deer bouncing throughout the street throughout our drive, so pay attention to animals crossing as effectively. The Parkway was constructed for motorists, so there aren’t any bike lanes. Cycling needs to be completed with excessive warning and drivers ought to all the time pay attention to cyclists sharing the slender street.
Get Crafty on the Folk Art Center
There are many locations to cease and discover alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway and we made it simply over a mile on our journey earlier than making our first cease on the Folk Art Center (at milepost 382). The heart is a superb place to study and see Appalachian arts and crafts. You may even watch the artists themselves doing demonstrations of their work. Most of the gadgets inside are on the market so you may take dwelling a chunk of the native handmade artwork if you want. We discovered it to be very spectacular and advocate stopping by to test it out.
Stand At the Highest Point East of the Mississippi
Another must-stop location for us alongside the Parkway was Mount Mitchell, the best peak east of the Mississippi River (at an elevation of 6,684 toes and positioned at milepost 355). Despite being a bit overcast and foggy that top up, the views have been gorgeous and we have been glad we took the time to get out of the van and stroll to the height. Mount Mitchell additionally has a seasonal Natural History Museum, restaurant, picnic areas and tenting (a few of these are open seasonally, so test working hours earlier than visiting).
Rock Out on the Mineral Museum
Another spotlight of our journey was the Museum of North Carolina Minerals, positioned at milepost 331. We (particularly Kait) love rocks and it was good to be taught in regards to the space’s wealthy mineral assets and mining historical past on the museum. There are additionally some cool interactive displays that discover the creation of the Blue Ridge Mountains which will provide you with a higher appreciation of the geologic wonders you’ll see as you drive the Parkway.
Enjoy the Serenity (and Breakfast) of the Mabry Mill
We had learn in a information ebook that the Mabry Mill (positioned at milepost 176) is one of the picturesque locations alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway, so after passing it alongside our route, we determined to name an audible and rapidly discovered a campsite close by so we might go to the mill the next day. It was effectively value stopping for.
We loved a implausible breakfast of biscuits and gravy and the very best candy potato pancakes we’d ever had on the mill restaurant. We then walked the postcard-worthy grounds and noticed the unique sawmill and blacksmith store that also stand immediately. There are additionally cultural demonstrations and Sunday afternoon music and dancing throughout sure seasons. Be conscious that the mill isn’t open all 12 months spherical so that you’ll need to test the working hours earlier than making a cease right here.
Hit the Trails
There are over 369 miles of mountain climbing trails alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway, too many to checklist right here. No matter your degree of expertise or how a lot time you’ve got, you’re sure to search out loads of hikes to do if you wish to get out and stretch your legs. Two of the paths we skilled on our journey have been Linville Falls (a considerably strenuous hike right down to a roaring waterfall the place you may dip your toes within the refreshing water) and the Cascades Trail (a neater, leisurely loop resulting in Falls Creek). Other well-liked trails to take a look at embrace Peaks of Otter, Cumberland Knob, and Crabtree Falls.
And Much More…
With 469 miles of Parkway, there are just too many factors of curiosity to cowl on this article, so that you’ll need to do your analysis to decide on what stops you’d like so as to add to your itinerary. Here are just some extra highlights we advocate:
- The Orchard at Altapass (at milepost 328), a 100+ year-old orchard the place we stopped to get some scrumptious native apples and take some enjoyable images.
- Moses H. Cone Park (at milepost 294), a formidable property constructed by a textile magnate the place you may tour the manor, soak in stunning views of the valley under, and stroll miles of winding carriage trails.
- Blue Ridge Music Center (at milepost 213), the place you may take pleasure in stay performances and be taught in regards to the music that’s embedded within the historical past of the mountains on the “Roots of American Music” exhibit.
- Humpback Rocks (at milepost 5.8), providing hikes to excessive rock outcroppings and historic farm buildings that will provide you with a way of life in Appalachia in the course of the late 1800s.
Check out our Blue Ridge Parkway journey video to see extra of what we did on our journey.
Where to Stay
Given the character of the Blue Ridge Parkway and its proximity to many communities alongside the best way, there are many choices for staying in a single day relying on what you’re in search of…from inns and lodges, to developed campgrounds and backcountry tenting.
Blue Ridge Parkway Camping
There are eight campgrounds alongside the Parkway itself which are open from May by means of October (they shut down throughout winter months). All of the campgrounds have potable water, flush bogs, and a dump station (notice that showers are solely accessible at Julian Price and Mount Pisgah campgrounds). Advance reservations could be made for all campgrounds as much as 6 months upfront, in any other case spots are first come, first served.
We made a last-minute determination to remain on the Rocky Knob Campground (at milepost 167) throughout our journey and have been fortunate to search out the campground pretty empty, permitting us to snag a spot the day of. Since Rocky Knob isn’t one of many campgrounds with showers, we showered inside our van and loved a calming evening and sluggish morning there. We’d advocate spending an evening right here if you wish to discover Mabry Mill or different surrounding sights.
The Parkway additionally has three backcountry campgrounds when you’re in search of a extra primitive tenting expertise. Permits are required to camp within the backcountry and are issued on a first-come, first served foundation. You can get a allow on the campgrounds themselves from June by means of October. From November by means of May, permits can be found on the corresponding District Office. There are limits to how many individuals can camp within the backcountry, so advance reservations are advisable.
Of course there are many different campgrounds and RV parks within the communities that encompass the Blue Ridge Parkway, in addition to companies the place you may keep in a single day in your RV. We spent our first evening in a neighborhood Walmart car parking zone which was surprisingly quiet and peaceable.
Lodges
If tenting isn’t your factor, there are additionally two lodges on the Blue Ridge Parkway: Peaks of Otter Lodge in Virginia (at milepost 86) and Pisgah Inn in North Carolina (at milepost 408.6). Both lodges are open seasonally so make sure to test their working calendar and make advance reservations when you can.
Hotels, Motels & More
If the campgrounds and lodges on the Parkway are full or don’t fit your wants, the communities close by provide quite a lot of inns, motels, mattress & breakfasts, resorts, and different lodging, so that you shouldn’t have any bother discovering a spot to remain.
Our journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway was unforgettable. Driving from milepost 384 to milepost zero gave us an incredible style of the pure and cultural great thing about the Appalachian area. We might have spent many extra days driving the remainder of the Parkway and exploring all the stops alongside the best way, and might’t wait to do extra of it sooner or later. There’s really one thing for everybody on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and we encourage you to find your favourite components of America’s Favorite Drive by experiencing it for your self.