Blue Ridge

2025-04-16
NC

Today is heading homeward. My plan was simple; follow the Blue Ridge Parkway for a while, do a waterfall hike accessible from the Parkway, and when the Parkway became too much I would jump off and head for a highway.

The Blue Ridge is similar to the Natchez Trace Parkway in that they are both run by the National Park Service. Both are limited-access roads where you don't have to worry about stop signs or traffic lights. Both are surrounded by trees. It can be challenging to figure out where to go to get on the Parkway near you. That's about where the similarities end.

The NTP is more historical while the BRP is more scenic. The NTP is a casual drive, while the BRP is an upper-body workout. On the NTP, speed is barely enforced by someone slower up ahead, while on the BRP it is enforced by tight turns and sheer cliffs on either side of the road. However, I didn't get to experience too much of the BRP before I found out the biggest difference; most of it is closed. Hurricane Helene took its toll on the road, and they are only slowly opening it up.

Of course my hike was on a closed section. And to make matters a bit more annoying, by the time I had finished the section of BRP that I could, I was actually further timewise from my house than when I started because I was much further from the highways. If I had left for home straight from Cherokee it would only have been nine hours; long, but doable. Following google home, I took state roads up through North Carolina and got on I-81. However, after about seven hours and high traffic I decided to spend the night in Roanoke and finish the drive tomorrow. There is no rush.