Blue Ridge Parkway
North Carolina, Virginia
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
7 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy–Strenuous
🟢 🔴
Crowds
very high
Open today
Open
Entrance
Free entry
A Blue Ridge Parkway experience is unlike any other: a slow-paced and relaxing drive revealing stunning long-range vistas and close-up views of the rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes of the Appalachian Highlands. The Parkway meanders for 469 miles, protecting a diversity of plants and animals, and providing opportunities for enjoying all that makes this region of the country so special.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The road is open 24 hours a day, weather permitting. Road closures due to inclement weather occur most frequently during winter. Sections of the road may also be closed during road maintenance projects. Check our road closure map to verify that the parkway is open before traveling. Visitor centers and other facilities have hours and seasons that vary. Most picnic areas, campgrounds, and visitor centers are closed from the beginning of November until early May.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 8283483400
✉ blri_info@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Dec
Typical crowds: very high
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 80°F
🌦️ 82°/67°
🌦️ 81°/67°
⛈️ 85°/65°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
24%
Feb
35%
Mar
54%
Apr
71%
May
82%
Jun
96%
Jul
100%
Aug
97%
Sep
92%
Oct
91%
Nov
61%
Dec
46%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Spot an Elk on the Heintooga Spur Road · 11 mi
Become a Blue Ridge Parkway Junior Ranger · Length of time depends on how many activity sheets you would like to complete during your visit.
Stargaze at Waterrock Knob · 6000 ft gain · <p>Depending on your interest and the stargazing conditions, the amount of time you spend can vary greatly.</p>
Watch Peregrine Falcons at Devils Courthouse · <p>Driving time to Devils Courthouse varies depending on where you access the Blue Ridge Parkway. Also, there is no predetermined time allotment for how long you must stay at the overlook. Take your time. Watch and listen for birds, then move on at a leisurely pace. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic motor road meant for driving enjoyment. Overlook views are intended to be savored.</p>
Watch for Hawks at the Mills River Overlook · <p>Once at the Mills River Overlook, visitors may stay for as little or long as they wish.</p>
OVVI Junior Ranger
Hawk Watch at Harveys Knob
Visit Adney Gap · 8.3 mi · 2664 ft gain
Campgrounds
Crabtree Falls Campground ↗ · 81 sites · first-come · dump station
Doughton Park Campground ↗ · 108 sites · first-come · dump station
Julian Price Park Campground ↗ · 190 sites · first-come · dump station
Linville Falls Campground ↗ · 64 sites · first-come · dump station
Mount Pisgah ↗ · 125 sites · first-come · dump station
Otter Creek ↗ · 68 sites · first-come · dump station
Peaks of Otter Campground ↗ · 139 sites · first-come · dump station
Rocky Knob Campground ↗ · 106 sites · first-come · dump station
Visitor centers
Blue Ridge Music Center (Milepost 213)
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center (Milepost 384)
Craggy Gardens Visitor Center (Milepost 364)
Doughton Park Visitor Center (Milepost 241)
Folk Art Center (Milepost 382)
Humpback Rocks Visitor Center (milepost 5.8)
James River Visitor Center (Milepost 63.6)
Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center (Milepost 304)
Linville Falls Visitor Center (Milepost 316)
Moses Cone Manor House and Visitor Center (Milepost 294)
Museum of North Carolina Minerals (Milepost 331)
Peaks of Otter Visitor Center (Milepost 85.6)
Rocky Knob Visitor Center (Milepost 169)
Waterrock Knob Visitor Center (Milepost 451.2)
Accessibility
8 accessible campground(s)
94 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Blue Ridge Parkway — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
Trail profile
Each dot is a trail — distance vs. elevation gain, by difficulty.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Blue Ridge Parkway — each spans a cross-park journey.
Brinegar Family
— Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Settlers, Appalachian CultureMoses Cone
— Architecture, Cultural Landscape, ImmigrationOrlean Puckett
— Midwife, Appalachian Settlers, Women's HistoryR Getty Browning
— Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Mountains, EngineerStanley Abbott
— Landscape Design, Landscape Achitecture, Park DevelopmentPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Blue Ridge Music Center (Milepost 213)
🎫 Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center (Milepost 384)
🎫 Canal Trail at James River
🎫 Craggy Gardens Visitor Center (Milepost 364)
🎫 Doughton Park Visitor Center (Milepost 241)
🎫 Folk Art Center (Milepost 382)
🎫 Humpback Rocks Visitor Center (milepost 5.8)
🎫 James River Visitor Center (Milepost 63.6)
🎫 Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center (Milepost 304)
🎫 Linville Falls Visitor Center (Milepost 316)
🎫 Moses Cone Manor House and Visitor Center (Milepost 294)
🎫 Museum of North Carolina Minerals (Milepost 331)
🎫 Peaks of Otter Visitor Center (Milepost 85.6)
🎫 Rocky Knob Visitor Center (Milepost 169)
🎫 Waterrock Knob Visitor Center (Milepost 451.2)
Places to see
Air Bellows Overlook
audio
Alligator Back Overlook
audio
Asheville Watershed
audio
Basin Cove Overlook
audio
Beacon Heights Trail
audio
Beaver Dam Gap Overlook
audio
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center TRACK Trail for Kids
audio
Brinegar Cabin
audio
Browning Knob Overlook
audio
Buck Spring Gap Overlook
audio
Buck Spring Lodge
audio
Buck Spring Trailhead
audioAudio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
Recipients of the 2008 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
Recipients of the 2010 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
Celebrate 50 years of the NPS Volunteer-in-Parks Program, and learn about the contributions of the volunteer recipients of the 2019 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service, for work performed in fiscal year 2019.
View recipients of the National Park Service Freeman Tilden Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of interpretation and education by NPS employees.
The National Park Service congratulates the regional recipients of the 2023 Excellence in Volunteerism Awards. These nominees embody the values of service, engagement, and stewardship fundamental to our national parks.
A lot of articles have been written about the history of the National Park Service (NPS) arrowhead emblem. Many recycle the same content and outdated information that has largely come from the NPS itself. Challenging the traditional story has revealed new sources of information—and two previously overlooked arrowhead designs—that rewrite the arrowhead origin story.
The National Park Service (NPS) was only 26 years old when the United States entered World War II. The young bureau faced very real threats to its mission, with increasing pressure to contribute its natural and cultural resources to the war effort even as its budget and staff were slashed. Under the leadership of Director Newton B. Drury, the NPS was able to do its part for the war while maintaining its public trust responsibilities to the American people.
By the 1900s, thousands of apple trees grew on the hillsides of the Moses Cone Estate. It required horticultural expertise to document and establish the extensive orchards and a significant labor force to plant, graft, and maintain the trees. While few trees remain today, the remnant orchards continue to be a significant part of the landscape. Learn more about the preservation of these unique, living resources that represent the history and development of the orchards.
How Blue Ridge Parkway connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
Topic
State
ThingToDo
Campground
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
Trail
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