In another bit of good news for this fall's leaf lookers, sightseers and anyone who loves the mountains of western North Carolina, a major section of road on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is now finished, and Mount Mitchell State Park has reopened, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported.
Both the park and the highway were closed after sustaining heavy damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene almost one year ago.
On Sept. 15, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the completion of two landslide repair projects at mileposts 375 and 380 and reopened a section of the parkway from MP 382 in Asheville to MP 355.3 at the Ridge Junction Overlook, near N.C. Highway 80 and the turnoff to Mount Mitchell State Park.
This section of the BRP leads to popular destinations in the Craggy Gardens area, near MP 364, including the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, Craggy Pinnacle Trail and short sections of North Carolina's Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The opening also provides access to other lands managed by the USDA Forest Service that border the parkway.
Among those areas that are still shut down are the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area and sections of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from the Craggy Trail Shelter to the Snowball Mountain Trail.
The parkway once again provides access to majestic Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River, according to North Carolina Parks spokesperson Kris Anne Bonifacio, and most trails within the state park are open. One section of the Old Mitchell Trail, between the park office and its intersection with Camp Alice Trail, remains closed. Several connecting trails in Pisgah National Forest also remain shuttered.
Parkway Restorations Shift North to Linville Falls Area
The BRP's reopening also marks the completion of an initial round of recovery projects under way to repair landslides that occurred on the parkway as a result of Helene, which ripped through western North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2024. The storm brought with it historic rainfall and flooding, triggered thousands of landslides and caused the deaths of more than 100 people across that part of the state.
The National Park Service is prioritizing the restoration of road access through a phased system, and additional projects are beginning in 45 remaining locations. The highest concentration of overall roadway and infrastructure damage along the parkway occurred from the Linville Falls area, near MP 317, south to Mount Mitchell State Park, according to a news statement from the federal agency.
Projects slated for repair as part of the next sections of work will restore and stabilize the BRP, remove remaining debris and repair overlooks and guardrails.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most-visited unit of the National Park Service, drawing nearly 17 million visitors in 2024 despite last fall's hurricane damage. It takes a southerly route for 469 mi. from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, across the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains, before ending at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cherokee, N.C.
Parkway construction activity is complex and highly technical, according to the NPS, and includes factors such as remoteness, challenging terrain and reduced construction seasons due to ice and winter weather at higher elevations.
For safety reasons, the park service asks that people visiting the area continue to be patient and respect remaining closures. Some closed areas remain in effect due to multiple seen and unseen hazards, including work crews and heavy equipment at work, which make some areas hazardous.
In sections of open trail, hikers should use extreme caution since they might encounter dangers such as landslides, tree debris and washed-out sections or bridges.
