Читать книгу Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway - Victoria Logue - Страница 7
ОглавлениеIntroduction
As your car leans around a bend in the Parkway lined with a bank of rhododendrons, yet another picture-perfect panoramic view opens up before you. Alternating between cool creeks shaded by oaks and pines to high mountain meadows with broad vistas, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers a visual delight at every turn. It is easy to imagine that this road was simply placed on a course through the already scenic Appalachian Mountains, but in reality, the Parkway is a much more ambitious project and the result of hard work on the part of a number of talented landscape architects and engineers. In December of 1933, Stanley W. Abbott, the first resident landscape architect and primary designer of the Blue Ridge Parkway, began working “with a ten-league canvas and a brush of a comet’s tail,” as he put it.
When Abbott first saw what he had to work with, he reported, “Few of the showplaces of the parkway environs remain in an unspoiled natural state.” Planners faced land destroyed by clear cutting, cultivated farmland, and streams and rivers that ran brown due to erosion. Before the scenic beauty of the Parkway could be enjoyed, it had to be re-created, almost from scratch, as far as the bushes, trees, and lakes were concerned.
During that creation process, the 469-mile Parkway was designed to be a “drive awhile, stop awhile” recreation opportunity. To make this dream a reality, the route for the Parkway was carefully selected to emphasize scenic and historic areas. Scattered along its length were parks, historic sites, and other points of interest. Abbott referred to the roadway as the chain of a necklace, the parks and historic sites as bright jewels. For example, after leaving Cumberland Knob Visitor Center at the North Carolina–Virginia border, you will travel nearly 21 miles south, passing only overlooks and road crossings before reaching yet another jewel: Doughton Park. Each jewel offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking trails, living-history demonstrations, interpretive information, picnic and camping facilities, and much more, creating a number of pleasant day drives along its route.
So pack a picnic basket, pile in the car, and come drive awhile, stop awhile.
GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY
From Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Parkway covers 469 miles—217 miles in Virginia, 252 in North Carolina. The Parkway begins at Rockfish Gap in Virginia, and for the next 355 miles, it leads south as it follows the Blue Ridge Mountains, the eastern bastion of the Appalachians. The Parkway leaves the Blue Ridge at Ridge Junction (milepost 355.3), skirting the southern edge of the Black Mountains before passing through the Great Craggy Range. From there, the Parkway descends to the valley of the French Broad River then climbs toward the summits of Pisgah Ledge and the Great Balsam Mountains en route to the Smokies.
“the Black Mountains and the nearby Balsam and Smoky mountains are home to 41 mountain peaks above 6,000 feet”
The Appalachian Mountains, through which the Parkway travels, were formed at the close of the Permian period more than 230 million years ago. At that time, the mountains towered more than 40,000 feet above sea level, more than 10,000 feet higher than Mount Everest. When the rocks were first formed in the Cambrian-Precambrian period (500 million to 1 billion years ago), they were laid down in a marine environment as thick beds of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and shale. When the mountain uplift began at the end of the Permian age, heat and pressure transformed the sedimentary rocks into the metamorphic rocks—quartzite, schist, gneiss, marble, and slate—that you now see.
The Appalachians reveal an intricate series of folding and faulting as well as igneous intrusions. Vast sections of the mountains have undergone a minimum of three cycles of erosion to the level of peneplain, that is, reduced almost to a plain by erosion. Between each of these erosion cycles, the mountains were uplifted. This uplift is still occurring at the rate of about 1.5 inches every 1,000 years.
If you travel the entire Parkway from Rockfish Gap to the Oconaluftee River, you will traverse an area of diversified topography. From Rockfish Gap to Roanoke, Virginia, you will follow a master ridge with a number of spurs that bend parallel to the master ridge and often surpass it in height. To the east of this master ridge are the Piedmont lowlands; to the west, the Great Valley. On the other side of the Great Valley rise the Alleghenies.
From the Roanoke Valley south to where the Parkway leaves the Blue Ridge, you will pass through an extended plateau that unfolds to the west of the crest of the Blue Ridge. The rolling hills are the result of an uplifted peneplain. You will also see gently rounded knobs (monadnocks) dotting the landscape, prominent above the farmland. To the east, a steep slope plummets to the Piedmont. Here and there, finger ridges stretch as much as a mile into these lowlands.
Immense parallel ridges and their spurs are broken up by narrow valleys from the Black Mountains to the Smokies. Many summits rise to greater than 6,000 feet, a difference of more than 4,000 feet above the valleys.
North of the divide, from Rockfish Gap to the Roanoke Valley (milepost 0.0 to approximately milepost 105), water rising from springs in the Alleghenies forms creeks and rivers that flow across the route of the Parkway as the water makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Blue Ridge Parkway follows 215 miles of the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Roanoke Valley to the Black Mountains. Along this eastern continental divide, water flows westward from the Blue Ridge toward the Gulf of Mexico and eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean. South of the Black Mountains (milepost 355.3), all water flows toward the Gulf of Mexico.
HISTORY OF THE AREA
The Appalachian Mountains have supported human life for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence from the Peaks of Otter area (milepost 86.0) indicates that a society of game hunters lived here more than 8,000 years ago. Artifacts from this period include spear tips, or Folsom points. This culture was succeeded by the more advanced mound-building society.
“the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee were still considered wilderness in 1754”
The more familiar Native American tribes eventually established power in the Blue Ridge. The Cherokee of North Carolina were the most powerful of the tribes that lived in the area through which the Parkway passes. The valleys of the Balsam and Smoky mountains were settled by the Cherokee. In Virginia, the Catawba tribe lived in the Catawba River Valley to the east of the Parkway. These two tribes fought continually with each other, as well as with the Iroquois, who often raided the territory south along the Great Valley.
By the beginning of the 18th century, the Iroquois had not only defeated the smaller Tupelo, Monoacan, and Saponi tribes, but had nearly vanquished the Cherokee and Catawba as well. The Iroquois War Trail traversed the Blue Ridge area south to Big Lick (now Roanoke). Here, it forked westward and south through the Great Valley to the Tennessee River and its tributaries, which were occupied by the Cherokees, and eastward through the Blue Ridge, following the Roanoke River gap before heading south into the homeland of the Catawba. When European settlers arrived, they used these war trails as they began to settle the “wilderness.”
From the 1730s until the beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754, settlers from Scotland, Ireland, England, and Germany used the Iroquois War Trail as they moved southward from Pennsylvania, settling western Virginia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee. When the French and Indian War began, western Virginia was relatively settled. The mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee were still considered wilderness, and settlers fought not only the primitive conditions but also the Cherokee, who defended their territory until the end of the Revolutionary War.
The Cherokee were pushed back into the Great Smoky Mountains by settlers taking over their lands in the late 1700s. Disease and war took a heavy toll on the Cherokee, and by the 1830s, only about 20,000 members remained. Settlers pushed farther into the mountains of western North Carolina and northern Georgia, making confrontation unavoidable. An ironic twist to the fate of the Cherokee came during the War of 1812, in which General Andrew Jackson paved his path to fame and the presidency. The Cherokee, under the command of Junaluska, created a diversion that turned the tide of battle in Jackson’s favor at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama. Jackson went on to the presidency and in 1838 signed an agreement that called for the entire Cherokee nation to be moved to a reservation in Oklahoma. Under the direction of General Winfield Scott, 17,000 Cherokees were herded west at gunpoint. More than 4,000 of the Native Americans died on the forced march that became known as the Trail of Tears. In the Smokies, hundreds of Cherokee hid in the mountains. They later established what is now the Qualla Reservation at the southern end of the Parkway.
By the turn of the 19th century, the descendants of the Scots-Irish and other British settlers were the prevailing pioneers in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Daniel Boone, “Nolichucky Jack” Sevier, James Robertson, and Andrew Lewis are among the famous settlers and soldiers of the southern Appalachians.
From the beginning, the livelihood of the mountaineers was agriculture. Chief crops were corn, wheat, and potatoes. Most farmers also raised cattle and hogs, and a number owned sheep, geese, and turkey. The livestock and fowl were driven to market in the north and east each fall. With proceeds from the sale of animals, the farmers could purchase manufactured goods. This regional trade is just one sign that life along the Blue Ridge Mountains was not as isolated as the old mountaineer stereotypes would lead visitors to believe.
The people of the southern Appalachians were very nearly split on the subject of secession and the Civil War to which it led. In some cases, family fought against family. And as battles raged on distant fields, people living along the Blue Ridge were forced to contend with deserters, renegades, and raiders who sought the comparative safety of the mountains as a refuge.
Once the war ended in 1865, Blue Ridge farmers faced another threat to their families and lands as outside investors bought up mountain land for its timber and other natural resources. The farmers were only too glad to sell off the high ridges and other undesirable land the outsiders first wanted. In time, that loss of land created a need for farmers to find outside work to supplement their farm goods and income.
Narrow-gauge railroads climbed into the mountains, bringing with them the extractive logging and mining that offered seasonal jobs but depleted the natural resources of the Blue Ridge. Outside investors logged the prime timber in the early 1900s, leaving behind spent land and a radically changed lifestyle for the people living along the Blue Ridge.
In the aftermath of the Great Depression, government programs to stimulate America’s depressed economy brought much-needed jobs and money to the Appalachians. This included the creation of national parks and national forests along the southern Appalachians.
HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
The romantic notion of a road through the scenic southern Appalachian Mountains existed long before the Parkway’s inception in the 1930s. Colonel J. H. Pratt, who worked for the North Carolina Geologic and Economic Survey, charted such a route prior to World War I. His proposed mountain road extended from Roanoke, Virginia, through North Carolina and on to Greenville, South Carolina. He was actually able to build a short section of his road in North Carolina before the war began. The current Parkway follows sections of the colonel’s old road near Altapass, North Carolina (mileposts 323.0 to 326.0).
The idea that finally reached fruition occurred to several men nearly simultaneously. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps of Shenandoah National Park on August 11, 1933, he responded with enthusiasm to Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd’s recommendation that Skyline Drive be connected with a second scenic drive that would extend to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In September, Byrd met with Virginia Governor G. J. Pollard and Theodore E. Straus of the Public Works Administration to discuss the possibility of a parkway. The governor approved the idea of the project and appointed Byrd chairman of a Virginia committee that would expedite the project.
In early October, Pollard sent letters to fellow governors J. C. B. Ehringhaus of North Carolina and Hill McAllister of Tennessee, inviting them to appoint similar committees. On October 17, a conference was held in Byrd’s Washington, D.C., office with the state committees and others, including Senator R. R. Reynolds of North Carolina, National Park Service Director Arno B. Cammerer, and the chief of the Bureau of Public Roads, Thomas McDonald. The purpose of the meeting was “to consider ways and means of constructing a road to connect the two great national parks, Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountain National Park.”
As everyone favored the road, a proposal was sent to Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, who also served as public works administrator. The proposal requested $16.6 million for a parkway whose route was as yet undecided.
Secretary Ickes informed Cammerer on November 18, 1933, that Roosevelt had approved the parkway on condition that Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee pay the cost of location surveys and acquire and deed the right-of-way to the United States. In December, $4 million was allocated for the highway to connect the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. The project was then set up under the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads. The participating states were requested to submit their proposals of planned routes to Secretary Ickes, and a hearing was scheduled for February of 1934.
At the hearing, the group ran into its first controversy—North Carolina and Tennessee proposed entirely different routes. Tennessee’s route extended west from Linville, North Carolina, and continued south to the Great Smokies via the Unaka Mountains. North Carolina, on the other hand, wanted to continue the parkway south from Linville via the Blacks and the Balsams to enter the Smoky Mountains near Cherokee. Following a joint study by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads, which recommended the Tennessee route, Ickes approved only a route south from Shenandoah National Park to the James River and from Adney Gap, Virginia, to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, because of the outcry from North Carolina about the decision.
A second hearing was arranged, and in November Ickes announced that the parkway would run from Blowing Rock to the Great Smoky Mountains entirely in North Carolina. In the House of Representatives, there was a good deal of opposition to federal money being used to create a road whose only immediate benefit would be to Virginia and North Carolina. The act that finally made the parkway a reality narrowly passed the House then later cleared the Senate. On June 30, 1936, it was signed into law. It was in this act that the parkway was officially named the Blue Ridge Parkway. Prior to that, it had been called both the Appalachian Parkway and the Shenandoah to Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway.
As work on the Parkway progressed, those in charge met with little opposition. Like most of the country in the wake of the Depression, the Blue Ridge was economically depressed, and the idea of a paved road passing through this relatively undeveloped region appealed to many mountain residents. Acceptance was not universal, however, and resentment began to grow, with many of those who sold land for the Parkway angry that the road would bisect their farms. In most cases, ill will gradually changed to approval as Parkway neighbors grew to appreciate the road as an economic, recreational, and cultural resource.
BUILDING THE PARKWAY
In 1933, the amount of work Parkway planners and builders faced was tremendous. Reconnaissance, surveying, the acquisition of rights-of-way, design and layout, the drawing up of specifications for contracts, letting and evaluating bids, supervising construction, landscaping, and final acceptance of each contract were just the beginning. Every item, no matter how small, had to pass through the gauntlet of approval, beginning in the field and often navigating all the way to the secretary of the interior before returning through the same route back to the field.
“before Congress officially named it the Blue Ridge Parkway, the road was referred to as the Appalachian Parkway or the Shenandoah to Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway”
Landscape architect Stanley Abbott would later reminisce about the tremendous fieldwork needed to ensure that the Parkway was scenic and diverse, remarking that he and others would focus “… on the business of following a mountain stream for a while, then climbing upon the slope of a hill pasture, then dipping down into the open bottomlands and back into the woodlands.”
But the Parkway was not to be built just to provide travelers with scenic views. The 1916 act that established the National Park Service stated that the road be built to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Mabry Mill, Brinegar Cabin, and the Moses H. Cone Estate are among the architectural features that have become a part of the scenic route.
Preserving history and creating scenic landscapes were not all the landscape architects had in mind. A number of recreational parks and concession areas were also to be dispersed over the length of the Parkway. Funds were allocated and four areas were open by 1939, beginning with Cumberland Knob and followed by Smart View, Rocky Knob, and Doughton Park.
The first portion of the Parkway to be built was in the northernmost section of North Carolina—12.49 miles—with ground being broken in September of 1935. For the next 52 years, thousands of people worked to see the Parkway completed. In 1987, the last section—including the viaduct at Linn Cove—was finally opened to the public, completing a continuous road from Rockfish Gap in central Virginia to the Oconaluftee River near Cherokee, North Carolina.
“the last portion of the Parkway was completed in 1987”
The Parkway would have had to wait much longer for completion if it had not been for a number of donors. The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital of Greensboro, North Carolina, deeded 3,516 acres and a mansion to the Parkway in 1949 as the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The estate is partially supported by an annual donation of $10,000. That same year, the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, also of Greensboro, North Carolina, deeded 3,900 acres as the Julian Price Memorial Park. In 1951, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., donated $95,000 so that the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service could purchase land in Linville Gorge. By April of 1952, 535 acres had been added to the Parkway to form the Linville Falls Recreation Area.
PARKWAY SERVICES AND PARTNERS
Not all services could be provided by the National Park Service, so the secretary of the interior was authorized, through public law, to negotiate concession contracts. The first contracted concession was a bus service at Peaks of Otter. In 1950, Peaks of Otter, Inc., began transporting tourists to the summit of Sharp Top and providing lunch and souvenirs at the bus station. In 1958, Peaks of Otter, Inc., was replaced by the Virginia Peaks of Otter Company. By this time restaurant and service station facilities were available at Whetstone Ridge and Otter Creek. Since 1958, the company has built a 75-room lodge at Peaks of Otter that includes a restaurant. Authorized concessions are now spaced at intervals along the length of the Parkway.
The National Park Service has created a variety of interpretive offerings for visitors driving along the Parkway. Visitor centers, self-guided trails, roadside signs, campfire programs, and guided nature walks are among the programs developed to provide visitors with information about the Parkway, its history, and its culture. Many of these programs are detailed in Parkway Milepost, a free, educational magazine found in visitor centers and other sites along the Parkway.
In addition, the National Park Service has developed partnerships with different organizations to help protect and preserve the culture and beauty associated with the Parkway. These organizations are noted in the brochure Parkway Partners, but of particular note is the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Located in the Parkway’s Folk Art Center (milepost 382.0) near Asheville, North Carolina, the guild offers demonstrations, exhibits, and sales of traditional and contemporary arts and crafts.
CAMPING
The nine Parkway campgrounds are open from May to November. Between June 1 and Labor Day, campground stays are limited to 14 consecutive days and 30 total days per year in each campground. A fee is charged on a per-night basis, which includes up to two adults. An additional charge is collected for all other persons older than age 18. Children accompanied by an adult camp free. Drinking water, RV dump stations, and comfort stations are provided. None of the campgrounds are equipped with showers, electrical hookups, or laundry services. Campground quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Winter camping is occasionally available, weather permitting. Inquire in advance, as facilities are limited. Reservations are accepted at some camgrounds. Tent sites are almost always available, but RV sites can fill up in peak season, particularly on weekends. Two nice, but lesser used, campgrounds are Roanoke Mountain in Virginia and Crabtree Meadows in North Carolina. Most campgrounds have wheelchair-accessible facilities.
LODGING AND DINING
Lodges operated by concessionaires are at Peaks of Otter, Doughton Park, and Mount Pisgah, and housekeeping cabins are available at Rocky Knob. Most of the six restaurants on the Parkway are open from mid-April until November 1, though the Peaks of Otter lodge and restaurant are operated year-round. Restaurants are located at the following mileposts:
| 60.8 | Otter Creek |
| 85.9 | Peaks of Otter |
| 176.2 | Mabry Mill |
| 241.1 | Doughton Park |
| 339.5 | Crabtree Meadows |
| 408.6 | Mount Pisgah |
BICYCLING
The Parkway challenges bicyclists with more than 48,000 vertical feet to climb, whether you bike the 469 miles northbound or southbound. The Parkway was designed as a driving road and does not have broad shoulders for bikers. Select clothing that is highly visible, wear a helmet, equip your bike with reflectors, and avoid riding in dense fog. Lights are required to bike through the tunnels on the Parkway.
The National Park Service has a flyer on biking the Parkway that lists the major climbs and shows elevation changes between mileposts. Bikes are allowed only on the Parkway, in campgrounds, and in parking areas. No bikes are permitted on Parkway trails.
HIKING
Trails along the Parkway range from short leg stretchers to a portion of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. Many of the trails are listed in this book. Campgrounds and visitor centers provide free maps of trails in their area. A list of trailheads by milepost can be found in Appendix C of this book or at visitor centers along the Parkway. Good hiking shoes and water are recommended for trails more than a mile in length.
For hikes longer than a leg stretcher, you will want to let someone know where you will be hiking and what time you expect to return. That will speed efforts to assist you in an emergency.
FISHING
Bring your rod and lure hat with you to the Parkway. The Parkway offers more than a hundred miles of game-fish streams and 13 lakes, which range in size from a city lot to the 47-acre Price Lake (milepost 296.7).
The rivers and small streams at lower elevations support the native resident game fish of the Southern Highlands—the brook trout. Some streams and Parkway lakes have been stocked with nonnatives such as rainbow trout from the mountains of the West and brown trout from Europe. The larger waterways, including the French Broad, Linville, Roanoke, Swannanoa, and James rivers, support their own mix of native and introduced fish, plus warm-water residents such as bass.
A fishing license from North Carolina or Virginia is required for fishing along the Parkway. No special trout license is required to fish Parkway waters. Season, hours, creel, and size limits are all determined by state laws. No fishing is allowed in Parkway waters from one-half hour after sunset until one-half hour before sunrise. Streams and lakes labeled special waters have additional regulations.
The dam at Price Lake, the footbridge in the Price Lake picnic area, and the James River Bridge are off-limits to fishing. Because of research efforts, Bee Tree Creek, a tributary of Boone Fork, is closed to fishing.
For more information about fishing on the Parkway, as well as the types of game fish found in specific creeks and lakes, ask for a copy of Fishing Regulations and Opportunities available at most visitor centers.
SWIMMING
No swimming is allowed in Parkway waters. However, some nearby public lakes have swimming areas.
DISABLED ACCESS
Most of the Parkway’s visitor centers, contact stations, restaurants, and other facilities are wheelchair-accessible. In addition, there are three wheelchair-accessible trails. The trail to view the Linn Cove Viaduct (milepost 304.0) is a broad paved path. The paved trail at Mabry Mill (milepost 176.2) is wheelchair-accessible for all but the section that goes over the millrace on wooden steps. The famous view of the mill and millpond can be accessed from the main parking area. The mill itself and the other exhibits along the trail are accessed from the overflow parking area at milepost 175.9. And at Price Lake (milepost 296.9), a short wheelchair-accessible trail to a dock affords a pleasant view over the water.
For more information on disabled access at specific facilities, call (828) 271-4779.
RANGER TALKS AND WALKS
The park service interprets its unique natural environment for visitors through literature, self-guided trails, scenic overlooks, exhibits, and informative signs. The idea, of course, is to encourage the traveler to stop awhile and learn more about the nature and culture of the Blue Ridge.
As an integral part of this interpretive program, the Parkway sponsors a variety of nature and history talks and walks from June through October at many areas along the motor road. These scheduled programs are usually led by park rangers and volunteers.
Activities include campfire circles and guided nature walks, as well as slide shows, musical demonstrations, and history talks. Offerings vary from one area to another.
Talks and walks are usually planned for weekend evenings just about sunset, with occasional programs on weekdays. Most programs are held at the amphitheaters along the Parkway. All ranger talks and walks, as well as most special events, are free, though there is a fee for some special events. Schedules are posted at visitor centers, concession areas, and campground entrances.
DRIVING SAFETY
Because the Parkway is managed for recreation, travel is limited to passenger vehicles including motorcycles, cars, vans, pickup trucks, RVs, and tour buses. No commercial traffic is allowed. Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit is 45 mph. An average speed of 30 mph is helpful to estimate driving times along the Parkway, though speeds will be much lower in fog or rain.
Use extra caution in rain, fog, and snow, and be aware of wildlife. Deer and other animals may bolt in front of your car. Tunnels are potentially dangerous; slow down, use your headlights, and watch for cyclists. Place valuables in the trunk when a vehicle is left unattended, and contact the local ranger station or visitor center if a vehicle will be left overnight.
Parking is not limited to overlooks. Unless you find a “no parking” sign, feel free to stop anywhere along the shoulder of the Parkway where you find safe visibility and adequate space. Pull your car completely off the motor road, about 6 to 12 feet from the pavement.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
The following are a few of the regulations which Parkway visitors need to be aware of:
Pets must be on a leash no longer than six feet or under physical control (caged or carried).
Harming animals and harvesting plants and natural features (such as rocks) are strictly prohibited.
Historic or natural objects are not to be damaged or removed from the Parkway.
Weapons are prohibited except when unloaded, packed, and stored in vehicles.
Open containers of alcoholic beverages are permitted only in campgrounds by registered guests, and at picnic areas while picnicking, with no open containers allowed after 9 p.m.
Camp only in designated areas.
Stay on designated trails.
Fires are prohibited except in campgrounds, at picnic areas, and at backcountry campsites by permit. Fires must be confined to fireplaces and grills.
Park lakes and ponds are for scenic beauty and fishing enjoyment only, not for swimming, wading, or ice skating.
Viewing wildlife at night with artificial lights is prohibited.
Park Watch encourages visitors to get involved in the protection and preservation of the Parkway. While traveling the Parkway, visitors should be alert to fire, crime, theft, safety hazards, and traffic problems, as well as violations of Parkway rules and regulations. Report to a park employee by calling (800) PARK-WATCH (727-5928).
THE FOUR SEASONS OF THE PARKWAY
The personality of the Parkway changes with every season. Colors shift from pastels and greens to autumn shades and earth tones. As the months fall off the calendar, foliage blooms and flourishes and withers away. The weather turns from mild to warm, from cool to cold. Special events along the Parkway reflect the season; for example, in October you can often watch apple butter, and occasionally sorghum, being made at Mabry Mill.
Spring begins on the Parkway by late March, with an occasional snowstorm to surprise the lowlander. Creeks and rivers overflow from April rains, which bring out wildflowers to blanket the earth. All visitor centers and concession areas open in May.
Summer brings the busiest season on the Parkway and the best time to catch interpretive programs and special events. The pink-and-purple procession of flowering rhododendrons peaks around the first two weeks of June, with some varieties blooming into July; flowers bloom along the roadside all summer. While temperatures are usually mild, the dog days of August may send you in search of the Parkway’s higher elevations, which rarely reach temperatures above 80°.
Autumn delivers a brilliant display of red, yellow, and orange as the leaves begin to turn—an excellent time for a drive along the motor road. Leaf peepers begin to enjoy the Parkway in late September. The peak for much of the Parkway falls around the second and third week of October, though this varies by tree species and elevation. The foliage starts changing colors at higher elevations, then flows down the mountains as October days pass. Though leaf season is popular on the Parkway, traffic is lighter during the week than on the weekend.
Winter is a wonderful time to find solitude on the Parkway. Formations of ice create picturesque sculptures on roadside cliffs, and the snow-covered ground brings a stillness to the forest. Bare trees open up incredible views, beauty in a colorless scene—white on gray and brown. Sections of the Parkway close throughout the winter depending on the weather. Even if it isn’t snowing, the Parkway may be closed due to ice buildup or storm damage. These sections are often open to hikers, sledders, and cross-country skiers, so enjoy. Call (704) 298-0398, the Parkway’s information number (tape recording), for a list of closings.
