Road and Facility Closures

What's Open?

• Most of the parkway road is open for driving. A few sections are currently closed.
• Trails are open. Please read COVID-19 hiking precautions.

What's Closed?

• Restrooms and portable toilets
• Visitor Centers
• Picnic areas
• Campgrounds and backcountry campsites
• Peaks of Otter Lodge and Pisgah Inn
• Concession facilities, food service, and stores

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COVID-19 Information

From time to time, circumstances may necessitate the closing of trails or other actions to ensure visitor and resource safety. As part of your planning, visit this page to get special alerts and information. If you are a frequent visitor, you may want to bookmark this page.

March 22 Notice Regarding Visiting the Parkway:

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at the Blue Ridge Parkway is our number one priority. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for COVID-19 pandemic includes social distancing, and we need the public’s cooperation to ensure our visitation patterns adhere to CDC recommendations.

If you are coming to the parkway, please choose to visit areas that are not crowded to allow for adequate social distancing. Use this opportunity to explore different areas of the parkway. Visit our trail page to plan hikes to lesser known areas. If you encounter a crowded trailhead or overlook, go elsewhere.

We are closely monitoring COVID-19 with the federal, state, and local authorities. Outdoor spaces remain accessible to the public in accordance with the latest health guidance.

The National Park Service (NPS) encourages people who choose to visit the parkway during this pandemic to adhere to guidance from the CDC and state and local public health authorities to protect visitors and employees. As services are limited, the NPS urges visitors to continue to practice Leave No Trace principles, including pack-in and pack-out, to keep outdoor spaces safe and healthy.

COVID-19 Press Releases:

• April 1 - Additional Modifications to Operations To Implement Local Health Guidance
• March 24 - Closure to Southern End of Parkway
• March 23 - Closure to Parkway Restrooms and Camping Shelter
• March 22 - Modifications to Backcountry Camping Permits
• March 17 - Visitor Center Closure

 

Facility Closures

These closures are in addition to the closures posted at the top of the page:

• Otter Creek Restaurant (Milepost 60.8) south of Buena Vista, VA is closed.
• Bluffs Lodge is closed.
• Rocky Knob Cabins are closed.

Please visit the Operating Hours and Seasons page and real-time closure map for additional facility schedules and closures.

Trail and Backcountry Closures

Please read the information about avoiding crowded trails in the COVID-19 Information section above.

• All backcountry campsites are closed.
• Dobie Mountain Trail at Humpback Rocks in VA (Milepost 6) has been permanently closed.

 

Road Closures and Maintenance

COVID-19 Road Closures

As states and counties implement emergency precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19, portions of the parkway that run through those areas may be need to closed. Current closures:

• Milepost 455-469 in North Carolina

Weather Closures

Weather conditions may cause temporary road closures along the parkway. Much of the parkway is located at high elevation, where the climate is colder and wetter, and winds are stronger than in the surrounding communities. Please be aware that the parkway may be closed due to ice, snow or downed trees—even at times when the weather at lower elevations is sunny and pleasant. Please check the parkway's Road Closure Map (https://go.nps.gov/brp-map) for current closure information.

Road Maintenance

Upcoming road maintenance projects will result in temporary road closures along short sections of the parkway. Please check our Road Closure Map for real-time road closure information.

Boom Axe Work
Boom axe operations help to control vegetation growth along the roadway. Both lanes of the parkway will be closed to all activity (cars, bicycles, and hikers) in active work zones to ensure the safety of the maintenance workers as well as parkway visitors. All dates are subject to change due to weather. Please check real-time map for updates. MP = Milepost

• MP 121 to MP 136 (Route 220 - Route 221): March 2 - March 20
• MP 291.8 to MP 305: March 9 - April 3
• Hwy 191 to Buck Springs Tunnel: Feb 3 - Mar 16

Edge Rutting
Asheville Corridor, Mileposts 385 to 397.5 – Work began in November 2019 and will continue into late spring. The work will be conducted with single-lane traffic control and will be limited to Monday-Friday from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.

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NC Bridge Maintenance
The work for this project includes various preventative maintenance items for 20 bridges in NC between Milesposts 220-469. The work will occur under single lane traffic control. No work will be allowed on weekends, nights or federal holidays. The contractor plans to work on one bridge at a time, and anticipates working from south to north. Work at each bridge site is expected to be short in duration, typically under one week. The work began in November 2019 and is anticipated to be complete by late Spring 2020. (MP=Milepost)

• MP 225 Big Pine Creek Bridge #7
• MP 286 Goshen Creek Bridge
• MP 291 US Rte 321 Bridge
• MP 295 Sims Creek Bridge
• MP 299 Boone Fork Bridge
• MP 300 Green Mountain Creek Bridge
• MP 303 Rough Ridge Bridge
• MP 305 US Rte 221 Bridge
• MP 316 Linville Spur Road Bridge #3
• MP 319 Humpback Mountain Bridge
• MP 383 Swannanoa River Bridge
• MP 384 US Rte 74A Bridge
• MP 388 US Rte 25A
• MP 388 Southern RR Bridge
• MP 388 US Rte 25 Bridge
• MP 393 French Broad River Bridge
• MP 411 US Rte 276 Bridge
• MP 443 US Rte 23/74 Bridge
• MP 455 US 19 Bridge
• MP 469 Oconaluftee River Bridge