A popular section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is reopening in time for visitors to enjoy the fall season. According to the National Park Service (NPS), this stretch of roadway sits just outside Asheville, North Carolina, and has been closed since Hurricane Helene brought widespread destruction to the area.
The closure, located just northeast of Asheville, includes popular areas of the Pisgah National Forest and Mount Mitchell State Park. The remains of Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on September 27, 2024.
At Pisgah, visitors will once again be able to visit Craggy Gardens. The area features trails with scenic overlooks and a short section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which runs from North Carolina’s mountains to the ocean along the Outer Banks. Meanwhile, Mount Mitchell State Park is home to the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
The reopening restores access to the parkway from mile marker 355.3 to 382. To complete the work, crews had to remove massive landslides caused by the heavy rainfall.
Work Continues on the Blue Ridge Parkway
In the NPS announcement about the reopening of this section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, officials asked visitors to continue obeying closures in areas around the Southeast.
“For safety reasons, the park asks that people continue to be patient and respect remaining closures,” the NPS wrote in a press release. “Multiple seen and unseen hazards exist in closed areas, and crews and heavy equipment at work make these areas unsafe. In sections of open trail, hikers should also use extreme caution, as they may encounter hazards such as landslides, tree debris, and washed-out sections or bridges.”
The storm was the costliest in North Carolina’s history and one of the most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history.
The work completed represents just the initial round of repairs needed on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are still ongoing projects in 45 other locations. That includes a section farther north where there is extensive damage from Mount Mitchell up to the Linville Gorge area.
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the Appalachian Mountains. The road connects Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It is one of the most visited NPS sites in the country.