Blue Ridge Parkway                                   back to main autumn page

This scenic drive stretches 469 miles from the Shenandoahs to the Great Smokies. Breathtaking views can be found near Blowing Rock, the only full-service town located directly on the Parkway. Heading south, you will find many overlooks with parking areas, ideal for stopping to take that perfect photograph. Take it slow on the Parkway, and behold the panorama of the Pisgah National Forest, afire with brilliant colors, set against a clear Carolina blue sky. Autumn views just don’t get any better.

The Blue Ridge Parkway skirts the southern slope of Grandfather Mountain, where you will find a wonder of engineering set in harmony with nature. The Linn Cove Viaduct was completed in 1987, and is one of the largest attractions on the Parkway. This portion of the Parkway is the result of a heated controversy surrounding a very important issue: How to build a road at an elevation of 4,100 feet without damaging one of the world's oldest mountains? Come drive it and see for yourself. Your breath will catch in your throat as you approach, and you wind round where the road seems to meet the sky. You will find the view completely unobstructed; the spectacle of the Wilson Ridge wilderness, alight with a spectrum of color from deep green evergreens, to brilliant crimson maples. Stop in at the Linn Cove Visitor Center at the southern end of the Viaduct. There you can find more information, as well as a trail head that will lead you underneath the viaduct itself, where you can view it from the golden-canopied forest floor.

 

photo by Jim Morton                                                   photo by Hugh Morton