Traveling the
Blue Ridge Parkway BY CHANDA RICHARDSON
W
hen visiting or living in the High Country, it isn’t hard to miss the mountainous views, especially during the fall. With the past year’s onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many found themselves locked away in the comfort of their own homes. However, when in the areas of Ashe, Watauga and Avery, the Blue Ridge Parkway has and will continue to offer a safe escape when in lockdown. Totaling at 469 miles beginning at he southern end of Shenandoah National Park and swerving along the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway has become a staple in American scenery, becoming ground for tourists and locals all over the country. “Last year, I personally saw and heard reports of so many visitors in some locations that cars were literally parked part on the road shoulder and part in the road, making the two-lane parkway only passable by one vehicle at a time,” said Amy Ney, communications coordinator for the Blue Ridge Parkway in response to 2020’s large outcome of visitors. At the time of publication, Labor Day, visitors should expect to encounter a road closure in the Roanoke, Va., area. 104
PHOTO BY ANDREW COLE The Blue Ridge Parkway offers many scenic getaways such as the Boone Fork Trail.
There are actually two sections of the parkway that are closed but are combined into one detour. The Parkway is closed from Milepost 112.2 to Milepost 115 and from Milepost 121.4 to 135.9. Visitors can still access Explore Park and Mill Mountain Spur Road from the south at Milepost 121.4. “I usually recommend that southbound travelers exit the parkway at MP
106 (signed for US 460, but it is also US 221) and just take US 221 South through Roanoke to Adney Gap where there is a direct entrance to the parkway at MP 135.9 where the parkway reopens,” said Ney. If you find yourself in the Ashe County area, you will be able to find two access points, NC Route 18 to Laurel Springs & North Wilkesboro (MP 248.1)
and NC Route 16 to West Jefferson & North Wilkesboro (MP 261.2). Both offer breathtaking overlooks as well as the glorious autumn drive as the leaves begin to fall. In Watauga County, a handful of entrance points grace the mountainous land including, SEE BRP ON PAGE 105
AUTUMN TIMES 2021
