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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
In my opinion the Waterrock Knob Overlook at milepost 451 on the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the USA and Canada.
If the highly scenic Skyline Drive (97 miles long) through the Shenandoah National Park at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the equally excellent Newfound Gap road (26 miles long) through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park at the southern end are both added then the total distance from Front Royal, Virginia to Gatlinburg, Tennessee is 592 miles, all on National Park Service roads.
Technically the Blue Ridge Parkway itself does not extend into Tennessee. However, the Newfound Gap road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a natural extension to the southern end of the Parkway, so Tennessee is included in these notes as if it were truly a state through which the Parkway runs.
The Parkway itself is toll-free, but there is an entrance fee for the Shenandoah National Park. While in theory there is also an entrance fee for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in practice there is no fee since this park has no entrance fee booths on its entrance roads.
The vast majority of the exhibits on the Parkway do not charge any entrance or parking fee.
No commercial vehicles such as trucks or coaches are permitted on the Parkway, which is why it doesn't feature in coach tour brochures.
There is a 45mph speed limit on the Parkway.
The Parkway is a modern well designed road with wide bends and very moderate gradients. It's a two-way road, but there are over- and under-passes wherever it crosses other roads, with on and off ramps. Driving on the Parkway is therefore extremely pleasant.
You could start a tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway by flying in to Baltimore or Washington DC near its northern end or Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Chattanooga or Knoxville near its southern end, or you easily could combine the Parkway with a trip to Florida.
In Virginia the Parkway passes through the George Washington National Forest and in North Carolina through the Pisgah National Forest.
Evergreen trees along the Parkway include Virginia pine, white pine, hemlock spruce and fir.
The spring foliage season for flowering shrubs varies with altitude. In general, the display on the Virginia section of the Parkway appears before that on the North Carolina section despite it being further north, because it is at a lower altitude.
The following table lists the best times to see spring foliage of various kinds:
| Flame azalea | South of Roanoke to Rocky Knob | Mid May |
| Flame azalea | West of Asheville | Mid-June |
| Mountain laurel | Along Otter Creek | Mid-May |
| Mountain laurel | Other parts of the Parkway | First two weeks of June |
| Catawba rhododendron | North of Peaks of Otter to Onion Mountain and in Doughton Park | First week of June |
| Catawba rhododendron | Craggy Gardens and in the Balsams | After mid-June |
| Wildflowers | Anywhere on the Parkway | April to autumn (fall) |
A publicity leaflet for the Northwest Trading Post states that it operates from 15-Apr to 31-Oct, and I imagine that these dates are typical for other similar attractions along the route.
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Most recently modified 18-Mar-02