Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina

Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina

Parks Directory of the United States / National Scenic Byways

Address: 199 Hemphill Knob Road
Asheville, NC 28803
Phone: 828-271-4779;
Web: www.nps.gov/blri/ Description: Built during the Depression, the Blue Ridge Parkway is the nation's longest rural parkway, extending along the crests of the Southern Appalachians and connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The North Carolina section of the parkway runs through Pisgah National Forest, passing close to 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Other areas of interest include: the Cradle of Forestry in America, an information and discovery center dedicated to the beginning of forestry in the United States; Linville Caverns, which offers opportunities for caving on Humpback Mountain; Doughton Park, one of the best places along the parkway for viewing wildlife; and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.
Legth: 252 miles (North Carolina section); 469 miles (entire parkway). Start/Endpoint: The North Carolina section of the parkway begins at the Virginia state line at milepost 216.9, and extends south to Cherokee, North Carolina, where it ends at milepost 469 and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park begins. It intersects with the city of Asheville just after milepost 380 at I-40. Time to Allow: 8 hours (North Carolina section); 14 hours (entire parkway). Designation/Year: All-American Road (1996).

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See other parks in North Carolina.