Take a journey along 252 miles of the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway.
The Blue Ridge Parkway crosses into North Carolina, from Virgina, at Mile 216.9, at my least favorite area of the parkway. The hills were low and rolling. It was scenic because of all the farms along the road, but not much to see and hike around there. (Check out the Virginia side.)
Honestly, I can’t figure out if this was in Virginia or North Carolina, but it’s a typical sight along this section of the parkway.
The lack of mountains didn’t last long, and the parkway turned back into its normal awesomeness.
The mountains have reappeared.
The Brinegar Cabin, built in the 1870s. The family lived here until 1935, when the state of North Carolina bought the cabin.
Basin Creek Cove, as seen from the overlook at the Wildcat Rocks Trail (Mile 241).
The Blue Ridge Mountains, framed.
Much of the Blue Ridge Parkway hugs the mountain ridges like this. Don’t drive it if you are afraid of heights.
A double cascade on the aptly named Cascades Trail (Mile 271.9).
Going down.
A very pretty waterfall. Well, worth the steps to get here.
Pretty view.
Beautiful meadow.
I did a very small section of the Tanawha Trail in the Linn Cove area of the parkway. I loved the little section of the trail I did. I would love to hike more of it.
The trail was edged with rhododendron. This trail would be amazing when the plants bloom.
A wonderful view from the Yonahlossee Overlook in the Linn Cove area (Mile 303.9).
The parkway rounding the mountain in the distance.
The Linn Cove Viaduct, the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that was left unfinished until 1987.
Early morning mountain views.
My first and only view of Grandfather Mountain (5939 ft).
First stop of the day was Linville Falls (Mile 316.4). An easy trail leads to an overlook of this set of falls.
The water passes through a stone chute.
The chute of water leads to this wonderful waterfall.
A bit of a closer view from a different overlook. You can tell that this overlook was built a while ago.
A look down river.
A view from Chestoa View (Mile 320.8) overlook on a very cloudy/rainy day.
The parkway really starts to get even more amazing around here, just north of Asheville. Just look at that fog in the valley.
Fog lifting out of the valleys.
Here lies Mount Mitchell (6684 ft), the highest peak in the eastern United States. I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at except for the overlook’s sign. These clouds would stay around for a week. There’s an awesome state park on Mount Mitchell, which is accessible from the parkway.
The little picturesque Burnett Reservoir in the distance. This area was super pretty.
A beautiful view from the Glassmine Falls overlook (Mile 361.2). The falls only appear after it rains. It probably would have been visible the day after I was here.
Now for my favorite area of the parkway, Craggy Gardens (Mile 364.4). I hiked the Craggy Pinnacle Trail, and it was fantastic.
It looked like an old overgrown garden that you would find at a haunted house.
The valley was peeking through the fog.
Just gorgeous. I love fog.
The far overlook from the trail was fogged in, so I got a clearer view from the visitor center.
Beautiful views along this section of the parkway.
My next big stop was Graveyard Fields (Mile 418.8). I spent too much time here because I got a bit turned around because the trail was weird. I don’t advise taking the entire loop trail. It’s confusing. If you take a spur trail, you may find a waterfall, a super sketchy bridge and a super sketchy ramp going downhill that is super slick when it’s raining.
A picture taken on the super sketchy bridge.
It was a pretty waterfall at least.
This is part of the loop trail leading to a very confusing area. I ended up having to backtrack in the rain. It was pretty at least.
I didn’t have much time to do the last 51 miles before dark. I stopped at a lot of overlooks though. There were just too many pretty views.
Just too much pretty.
You can probably see why it took me forever to get to the Smokies.
A Blue Ridge Parkway sunrise the next morning on my way to Cataloochee.
The North Carolina section was my favorite part of the parkway. The waterfalls are amazing. The mountains are amazing, and the trails are great as well. I only spent four days on the parkway. It wasn’t enough. You can easily spend four days on the parkway north of Asheville alone. I highly recommend you also journey down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Check out my next update where I explore the Cataloochee Valley.
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Start at the beginning of my adventure through the Appalachian Mountains!
