Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Trip '24 #25
Back in Boone, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 8pm
This evening after leaving Linville Gorge after our hike at Linville Falls we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way back to our hotel in Boone. We had to drive it at least some of the way, as Linville Falls is managed by the National Park Service, as is the parkway itself. The visitor center is only accessible via an exit off the parkway. A few miles out from there we could have exited onto various other routes, but the Blue Ridge Parkway is such an enjoyable road to drive and as a scenic route it's surprisingly only a slight bit slower than the not-as-scenic alternatives.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is an astonishing 469 miles (755 km) long. It connects from where the Skyline Drive in Virginia ends at the boundary of Shenandoah National Park down to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Park Service says it's been the most visited of their units almost every year since it opened in 1946.
This evening we drove only 25 of the parkway's 469 miles. But it was a very pleasant drive, very chill. Here are three reasons why:
1. The Blue Ridge Parkway has no stop signs or traffic lights. Engineers designed the parkway so that all its intersections with highways are done with small connector roads. ...Not that there are a huge number of crossing roads, anyway, as the parkway tends to travel along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But it's really sweet to drive it without having to stop constantly for lights and signs.
2. The Blue Ridge Parkway is designed to blend into the scenery. The road's only 2 lanes wide, one in each direction, and there are no shoulders. This keeps natural beauty close by. The fact there are no traffic lights, minimal traffic signs, and almost no commercial interests along the road also keeps the drive feeling like a communion with nature.
3. The Linn Cove Viaduct is along the stretch we've driven a few times this week. It's probably the most photographed section of the 469 mile parkway. It was an engineering marvel when it was completed in 1983. The 1,243' long bridge hugs the contours of Grandfather Mountain in an S-curve and is constructed of 153 uniquely shaped concrete segments weighing 50 tons each. Now, it's not fall foliage season this week. There's no riot of autumn colors out there... yet. Maybe if we were to come back in a few weeks we'd see something the like stock picture above. Though probably in a few weeks there'll be heavy traffic on the parkway with all the leaf-peepers, making it a much less pleasant drive.
Back in Boone, NC - Thu, 5 Sep 2024. 8pm
This evening after leaving Linville Gorge after our hike at Linville Falls we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way back to our hotel in Boone. We had to drive it at least some of the way, as Linville Falls is managed by the National Park Service, as is the parkway itself. The visitor center is only accessible via an exit off the parkway. A few miles out from there we could have exited onto various other routes, but the Blue Ridge Parkway is such an enjoyable road to drive and as a scenic route it's surprisingly only a slight bit slower than the not-as-scenic alternatives.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is an astonishing 469 miles (755 km) long. It connects from where the Skyline Drive in Virginia ends at the boundary of Shenandoah National Park down to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Park Service says it's been the most visited of their units almost every year since it opened in 1946.
This evening we drove only 25 of the parkway's 469 miles. But it was a very pleasant drive, very chill. Here are three reasons why:
1. The Blue Ridge Parkway has no stop signs or traffic lights. Engineers designed the parkway so that all its intersections with highways are done with small connector roads. ...Not that there are a huge number of crossing roads, anyway, as the parkway tends to travel along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But it's really sweet to drive it without having to stop constantly for lights and signs.
2. The Blue Ridge Parkway is designed to blend into the scenery. The road's only 2 lanes wide, one in each direction, and there are no shoulders. This keeps natural beauty close by. The fact there are no traffic lights, minimal traffic signs, and almost no commercial interests along the road also keeps the drive feeling like a communion with nature.
3. The Linn Cove Viaduct is along the stretch we've driven a few times this week. It's probably the most photographed section of the 469 mile parkway. It was an engineering marvel when it was completed in 1983. The 1,243' long bridge hugs the contours of Grandfather Mountain in an S-curve and is constructed of 153 uniquely shaped concrete segments weighing 50 tons each. Now, it's not fall foliage season this week. There's no riot of autumn colors out there... yet. Maybe if we were to come back in a few weeks we'd see something the like stock picture above. Though probably in a few weeks there'll be heavy traffic on the parkway with all the leaf-peepers, making it a much less pleasant drive.