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The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway
and All-American Road noted for its scenic beauty.
It runs for 469 miles through the famous Blue
Ridge Mountains, a part of the Appalachian
Mountains. It is the longest, narrowest National
Park in the world.
Construction of the parkway took over fifty-two
years to complete, the last stretch (the Linn Cove
Viaduct) was laid around Grandfather Mountain in
1987. Twenty-seven tunnels were constructed
through the rock -- one in Virginia and 26 in
North Carolina. The highest point on the parkway
is 6047 feet above sea level on Richland Balsam
Mountain at Milepost 431. The parkway is carried
across streams, railways ravines and cross roads
by 168 bridges and six viaducts.
The parkway runs from the southern terminus of
Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive in
Virginia at Rockfish Gap to U.S. 441 at
Oconaluftee in the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. There is no
fee for using the parkway, however commercial
vehicles are prohibited without approval from the
Park Service Headquarters. The roadway is not
maintained in the winter, and sections which pass
over especially high elevations and through
tunnels are often impassable and therefore closed
from late fall through early spring. Weather is
extremely variable in the mountains, so conditions
and closures often change rapidly.
The parkway uses short side roads to connect to
other highways, and there are no direct
interchanges with interstate highways, making it
possible to enjoy wildlife and other scenery
without stopping for cross-traffic. Mileposts
along the parkway start at zero at the northeast
end in Virginia and count to 469 at the southern
end in North Carolina. The mileposts can be found
on the west side of the road.
Wildflowers dominate the parkway in the spring,
including rhododendrons and dogwoods, moving from
valleys to mountains as the cold weather retreats.
Smaller annuals and perennials such as the daisy
and aster flower through the summer. Brilliant
autumn foliage occurs later in September on the
mountaintops, descending down to the valleys by
later in October. Often in early to middle October
and middle to late April, all three seasons can be
seen simply by looking down from the cold and
windy parkway to the green and warm valleys below.
October is especially dramatic, as the colored
leaves stand out boldly and occur mostly at the
same time, unlike the flowers.
Major trees include oak, hickory, and tulip
tree at lower elevations and buckeye and ash in
the middle, turning into conifers such as fir and
spruce at the highest elevations on the parkway.
Trees near ridges, peaks, and passes (often called
gaps or notches) are often distorted and even
contorted by the wind, and persistent rime ice
deposited by passing clouds in the winter.
Crestwood Resort is located on the border of
Moses H Cone Memorial Park near parkway milepost
295.
Parkway Highlights Near Crestwood:
- Milepost 272 -- E. B. Jeffress
Park has a self-guided trail to the
Cascades. Another trail goes to the old cabin
and church.
- Milepost 285.1 -- Daniel Boone's
Trace, which Boone blazed to the West,
crosses near here.
- Milepost 292 to 295 -- Moses H. Cone
Memorial Park has hiking and horse
trails. Flat top Manor houses the Parkway Craft
Center. Fishing.
- Milepost 295.1 to 298 -- Julian
Price Memorial Park, the former retreat
of an insurance executive, offers a variety of
short trails and a lake.
- Milepost 304.4 -- Linn Cove
Viaduct, a design and engineering
marvel, skirts the side of Grandfather Mountain.
Visitor center and trails.
- Milepost 308.3 -- Flat Rock
is worth the walk for the superb view of
Grandfather Mountain and Linville Valley.
- Milepost 316.3 -- Linville
Falls roars through a dramatic rugged
gorge. Trails to overlooks.
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