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Carolina Arboretum, Milepost 393.6: Located at the exit
for NC 191. Stroll through a variety of gardens, on peaceful
hiking trails, and don't miss the wonderful bonsai exhibit
in the greenhouse. This 426-acre public garden reflects the
cultural and natural heritage of the region.
Tunnels of
Love: As you leave the Asheville area, you will climb
quickly in elevation and go through a dozen tunnels in the
next 15 miles or so.
Mt. Pisgah,
Milepost 407.6: This is a favorite hiking spot and
picnic spot, but it can be a bit crowded. The hiking trail
to the summit of this 5,000-foot peak may be a bit
strenuous, but the reward is the view from the top. Picnic
area at Milepost 407.8. Pisgah Inn, Milepost 408.7:
The only inn and restaurant on this stretch of Parkway is
located at 5,000 feet. It's a great place (and very popular)
to stop for lunch since their dining room has big windows
with beautiful vistas. Open April through October.
Milepost
412: US 276 crosses. Go south to the Pisgah National
Forest, Cradle of Forestry (4 miles), Sliding Rock (8 miles)
and Brevard (18 miles). Head north to Waynesville (22
miles). This area (Wagon Road Gap) is home to monarch
butterfly migration in middle September to early October
each year.
The Cradle of Forestry in America is a 6,500 acre Historic Site within the
Pisgah National Forest, set aside by Congress to commemorate the beginning of forestry
conservation in the United States. The Forest Discovery Center commemorates conservation
history with an 18 minute movie on Vanderbilt, Pinchot, Schenck and the beginning of
forestry in America. Also in the Center is an interactive exhibit hall, The Giving Tree
Gift Shop and the Forest Bounty Cafe. Outdoor activities include two guided trails which
lead you back in time to seven historical buildings, a 1915 Climax logging locomotive and
the old sawmill. Thursdays through Sundays you may find a toy maker, a weaver, a quilter,
a wood carver and a basket maker.
Milepost
412: Cold Mountain overlook. The mountain itself
(elevation 6,030 feet) is part of the Shining Rock
Wilderness area in Pisgah National Forest. Since Cold
Mountain is in a national forest, it is still in its natural
state (much as it was during the Civil War) and requires a
strenuous 10-mile hike to reach its summit.
Looking Glass Rock Overlook, Milepost 417: Named
for reflecting light brilliantly when water and ice are on
the rock's granite surface.
Graveyard
Fields Overlook, Milepost 418.8: This barren scenery is
very different from what you see along most of the parkway.
Enjoy nice vistas with fairly easy hiking to some
waterfalls. However, it can become very crowded here.
The Yellowstone Prong is the watersource for two waterfalls
in a mild-high valley filled with wildflowers and surrounded
by Blue Ridge mountains with 6,000-foot peaks. The area got
it's name years ago from the tree stumps and surrounding
trees that looked like grave stones in a graveyard setting.
Black
Balsam, Milepost 420.2: A must hike for sweeping
vistas. To reach the summit of Black Balsam Knob,
take the Art Loeb Trail. From the Blue Ridge Parkway, look
for the "Black Balsam" sign near milepost 420, just south of
Graveyard Fields and north of Devil's Courthouse. Drive
about 8/10 of a mile down the road and look for the trail on
the right. Park along the road. Walk about 1/2 mile through
the forest to reach the open, grassy and rocky mountain
meadows. Cross Sam's Knob and continue to Black Balsam about
one mile.
Devil's Courthouse, Milepost 422.4: Take a
strenuous 1/2-mile hike to the "Courthouse" for a 360-degree
view.
Richland Balsam Overlook, Milepost 431.4: Stop at
the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 6,047 feet.
Milepost 443.1: US 74/23 Crossover. For a fast
route back to Asheville, follow US 74 east to Waynesville,
then I-40 east to Asheville.
Waterrock Knob, Milepost 451.2: Stop here for lofty
views from the parking area and hike to the summit of one of
highest peak along the Parkway. Visitors Center and
restrooms.
Milepost 455.7: Soco Gap, US Highway 19 exit to
Maggie Valley or Cherokee.
Heintooga Road, Milepost 458.2: Spur to mile-high
overlook. To take a road less traveled, drive to
Balsam Mountain via the Heintooga Ridge Road that starts at
the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 458.2, just 11 miles from
the south end of the Parkway. (Not to be confused with Black
Balsam Knob, 38 miles north on the Parkway.) For the first
four miles of this paved, two-lane road, you are still in
the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park boundaries, complete
with some nice high-elevation overlooks looking down on the
mountain ridges. Then you enter the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park and continue another five miles to the end of
the paved section. Here you will find a picnic area and the
beautiful Heintooga Overlook. The one-lane unpaved Heintooga
Round Bottom Road begins there.
Milepost 469.1: Blue Ridge Parkway ends at US 441
at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee.
Mountain
Farm and Museum
Sitting on the banks of the
Oconaluftee River, just inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Mountain Farm
Museum has a collection of southern Appalachian farm buildings assembled from different
locations throughout the Park. Visitors can explore a chestnut log farmhouse, barn, hen
house, apple house, springhouse, and blacksmith shop. The farmstead even has a crop in the
field and live farm animals during the summer. Most of the structures were built in the
late 19th century by the Davis family and were preserved here in the 1950s. During the
summer Park staff and volunteers give demonstrations of some traditional mountain ways
like black-smithing, plowing, and syrup making.
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