 Blue Ridge Parkway | |
|---|---|
 Blue Ridge Parkway route map | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by National Park Service | |
| Length | 469 mi[1] (755 km) |
| Existed | June 30, 1936–present |
| Tourist routes |  Blue Ridge Parkway |
| Restrictions | No commercial vehicles |
| Major junctions | |
| North end |  US 250 / Skyline Drive in Rockfish Gap, VA |
| |
| South end |  US 441 in Ravensford, NC |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Virginia, North Carolina |
| Highway system | |
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 Ice Rock Milepost 242 | |
 | |
| Location | North Carolina & Virginia, USA |
| Nearest city | Asheville, NC & Roanoke, VA |
| Coordinates | 36°31′07″N 80°56′09″W / 36.51861°N 80.93583°W |
| Area | 93,390 acres (377.9 km2) |
| Established | June 30, 1936 |
| Visitors | 16,757,635 (in 2023)[2] |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Blue Ridge Parkway |
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S.,[3] runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 counties in Virginia and North Carolina, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 441 (US 441) on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48 (SR 48), though this designation is not signed.
The parkway has been the most visited unit of the National Park System every year since 1946 except four (1949, 2013, 2016 and 2019).[4][5] Land on either side of the road is owned and maintained by the National Park Service, and in many places parkway land is bordered by United States Forest Service property. There is no fee for using the parkway; however, commercial vehicles are prohibited without approval from the Park Service Headquarters, near Asheville, North Carolina.[6][7] The roadway is not maintained in the winter, and sections that 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 speed limit is never higher than 45 mph (72 km/h) and is lower in some sections.
In addition to the road, the parkway has a folk art center located at mile marker 382 and a visitor center located at mile marker 384, both near Asheville. There are also numerous parking areas at trailheads for the various hiking trails that intersect the parkway, and several campgrounds located along the parkway allow for overnight stays. The Blue Ridge Music Center (also part of the park) is located in Galax, and Mount Mitchell (the highest point in eastern North America) is only accessible via North Carolina Highway 128 (NC 128), which intersects the parkway at milepost 355.4.[8]
- ^ "Blue Ridge Parkway". National Park Service. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ "Annual Park Ranking Report for Recreation Visits in: 2023". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ "Blue Ridge Parkway". The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
- ^ "National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics". Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
- ^ "Visitation Numbers". www.nps.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ^ Whisnant, Anne M. (2006). Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9780807830376. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ "§5.6 Commercial vehicles". Code of Federal Regulations. Title 36. Chapter I. Part 5. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
- ^ National Park Service (2004). Blue Ridge Parkway: North Carolina, Virginia (Map). [c. 1:500,000]. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. OCLC 86108275. GPO:2003-496-196/40572 Reprint 2004.