Blue Ridge Parkway

PHOTO BY CHANDA RICHARDSON

Elk Mountain Overlook is just one of the many located in Boone on the Blue Ridge Parkway where you can see the vast mountain range.

Traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway

BY JORDYN DANIELS

When 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.

“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.

At the time of publication, the Laurel Fork Bridge at milepost 248.8 in Ashe County, NC will be under construction. A full park closure to all uses in the immediate vicinity of the bridge is expected to be in place the week of June 6, 2022. Work is expected to take over two years to complete, with a target completion date of November 2024.

Access to Doughton Park and the Bluffs Restaurant will remain open from both directions. However, visitors approaching Doughton Park and the Bluffs Restaurant from south of the bridge closure should follow the detour and resume their approach at milepost 248.1. Access to the Northwest Trading Post at MP 258.7 will remain open from the south. Visitors approaching the Northwest Trading Post from the north should follow the detour for access. In addition, Mountains to Sea Trail users should anticipate an approximately 200-yard closure at the base of the bridge, at which point trail users should follow the fence line around the project site.

In Watauga County, a handful of entrance points grace the mountainous land including US Hwy 421 to Boone and North Wilkesboro (MP 276.4), US 421/US 221 to Deep Gap & Boone (MP 280.8), US 321/US 221 to Boone & Blowing Rock (MP 291.8) and US 221 to Blowing Rock (MP 294.6). These will lead directly into the Avery County/Newland area.

SEE PARKWAY ON PAGE 107