Snowman greets Blue Ridge Parkway visitors at Soco Gap
You won’t find any motorcycles on the Blue Ridge Parkway this time of year. Cars either. The road’s been closed to winter traffic for a while now if it’s on wheels.
That doesn’t mean there is a lack of visitors. Even when blanketed in snow you’ll find people out enjoying the road. Sledding, skiing, on snowshoes or in winter boots, plenty drive to the nearest cross road and set out to enjoy the seasons scenery and solitude. Read more »
Guidewall Replacement at Milepost 243 with Survey Reference Marker
Constructed in the 1930’s, the rock masonry guide walls that line the Blue Ridge Parkway are a significant feature defining the historic and visual character of the Parkway. This project involves the rehabilitation of 32,000 linear feet of guidewalls from Milepost 417 to 425. This project is confined to the area of Doughton Park, near Sparta, NC. A significant portion of these walls has deteriorated due to settlement and the freeze thaw cycles over the last 75 years. This project rehabilitates and reconstructs the most deficient wall sections and will restore the structural integrity and the historic appearance of this important cultural resource.
Parts of Doughton Park will be closed consistently through early season of 2012.
If you are planning a trip to the Southern Appalachians for the fall color season and want to stay in hotel or lodge accommodations, have reservations in advance. Many times I have seen travelers on the Blue Ridge Parkway during October thinking that they would just take a leisurely drive and find a motel room at the end of the day. In many cases they would find no room at the inn. I have seen people drive seventy five miles or more away from the park to find a vacant room.
October is the peak visitation season for this region of the country and a pretty weekend can see huge crowds in the parks and surrounding communities. Many small towns and rural areas will be hosting festivals and art events that draw hundreds if not thousands of people.
October is also college football season. Colleges also sponsor their family and alumni weekends durng the beautiful fall weather. Such events can fill hotels for miles. You can check college web sites for their schedules. Some of the key colleges that may affect hotel availability are:
The University of Virginia
Virginia Military Institute
Washington and Lee University
Virginia Tech
Appalachian State University
University of North Carolina At Asheville
Competition for hotel rooms can be almost as exciting as some of the football games.
Traffic in prime viewing areas may also become congested which will result in slow downs and delays. So make sure your plans for the distances to travel are reasonable and attainable. Allow a cushion of time in your planning for heavy traffic. Come the end of the day you do not want to be hundreds of miles away from your planned stop for the night.
When ever possible travel during the week. Weekends are always the peak traffic times. Hotels rooms are also more easily obtainable on weekday nights.
As temperatures begin to cool a bit, more and more people are planning bicycling day trips and tours on the Blue Ridge Parkway and other National Park areas across the country. Here are some simple rules that will help make your trip a safe one.
- Wear a bicycle helmet
- Be sure your bicycle is in good operating condition. Carry a spare tube and tools for minor repairs.
- Wear high visibility clothing. It sets you apart from the scenery and more visible to motorists.
- Carry a cellular phone to report emergencies but remain aware that there are many dead spots with no cell coverage in many National Park areas. You may need to change locations to make a call.
- Avoid riding during periods of low visibility. Fog and rain may occur unpredictably. Reschedule your trip or allow time for flexibility to ride during periods of better weather conditions.
- Use caution when riding through tunnels. There are 26 tunnels in North Carolina and 1 tunnel in Virginia. It is recommended that you have an illuminated light on the front of your bike and light or reflectors on the rear.
- Temperatures vary greatly with elevation and aspect changes in mountainous areas. Wear clothing in layers. Hypothermia can be deadly, so take precautions to prevent it.
- Safe drinking water is available on a seasonal basis at park facilities. Many parks will winterize water lines and systems by the end of October. Be sure to check on what facilities are open and bring adequate water with you. Do not drink unpurified water from streams and springs within even the most pristine park areas. There are no areas within the United States now free from bacteria that will wreak havoc with your digestive system.
- Make an honest evaluation of your abilities before beginning a bicycle trip. Do your research and determine what elevation changes you will be challenged by. As an example you can find such information for the Blue Ridge Parkway by downloading this PDF:
- When cycling with a group, adjust your spacing to be single file and allow for motor vehicles to pass safely.
If driving a motor vehicle rather than pedaling a bicycle, be alert for cyclists and be sure to
Although most roadways through National Park areas do not allow commercial vehicles and large trucks you will still encounter tour busses, motor homes, and vehicles pulling trailers. Be alert for such traffic and always assume that a possible hazard may be around each blind curve.
Most visitors zip past the James River/Otter Creek area of The Blue Ridge Parkway in their cars headed to the higher elevations of the Peaks of Otter or Humpback Rocks. This is one of the few areas of the park that you will find straighter and flatter stretches of road that prompt people to speed by attempting to make time traveling north or south. The road here follows Otter Creek, one of the longest water courses within the park boundary and through the lowest elevations (649 feet) along the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. If a visitor would take the time to stop and get out of their vehicle, they would be rewarded by the nature and history that abounds between mile posts 60 to 64.
There are the obvious facilities in this section; the Otter Creek Campground with its new entrance bridge and Kiosk, the concession operated Otter Creek Restaurant, and the James River Visitor Center. But there is so much more.
The inquisitive visitor will discover the Otter Creek Trail. This 3.5 mile trail meanders along the creek and Parkway motor road from the campground to the visitor center. The trail is easy to walk and crosses the creek numerous times on stepping stones and pedestrian bridges. Sharp rock bluffs, mountain laurel, redbud, and bird life are abundant. At State Route 130 the trail travels through an underpass of the road. If you are observant you will see what appears to be a ditch that follows the edge of the trail. This is the remains of what was once a large mill operation that was obliterated when the present bridge for 130 was built.
The trail forks and makes a loop around Otter Lake. At the north end of the loop you will find the skeletal chimney and foundation of what was once the Nathaniel Sledd Cabin. This site is believed to have been the home of the first European settler in Amherst County, Virginia in the early 1700s. He was drawn to this location to trade with Native Americans for beaver pelts. Otter Creek was a heavily used travel route from the mountains above to the James River and above the threat of flood. Otter Lake did not exist at that time being built when the Blue Ridge Parkway came through in the late 1950s. Beaver still live in Otter Creek today. Hikers can see their handiwork in dams and the stumps and bases of trees that they have felled for food and construction materials. Trees around the trail have wire mesh around their base to protect them from the industrious rodents.
Beyond the James River Visitor Center you will find a remnant of our Country’s transportation history. On the opposite bank of the James River is a fully restored canal lock from the Kanawha Canal System that served as the main commercial transportation from the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond, Virginia before the Civil War. Looking up river you will be looking into the James River Water Gap, a geological feature left from a millennium of the river cutting its way through the Blue Ridge Mountains. This makes the James one of only two rivers that flow from west of the Blue Ridge toward the Atlantic Ocean.
So the next time you are driving through this area stop and get out of your vehicle and see what wonders await you.
