Scott McLeod photo
McLeods at sunset
Smoky Mountain Living publisher Scott McLeod (right) and his wife Lori take in the view at Balsam Campground. Camping along the Parkway provides a new perspective on the National Park Service area and up-close experiences with its dramatic landscape.
The Blue Ridge Parkway may be made for the automobile, but the unbelievable scenery always makes me want to get outside to touch, smell and see things up close. The best way to do that is to load up the backpack or the car and go camping, and from the time I was a teen, I’ve been doing just that.
In recollecting more than 30 years of camping at various spots along the Parkway, it seems those trips are like footnotes in the chapters of my life; so much of what we do everyday just slides by without getting indexed into our brains.
It seems like yesterday I was a 17-year-old junior in high school in eastern North Carolina. Some older friends had enrolled at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., and a visit there sparked what’s become a lifelong love affair with these mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway. A group of us went camping somewhere off the Parkway. It was my first time on the Parkway, and I remember being stunned by the views.
A few weeks later I made the trip to Boone, N.C., with Kevin Hinkle to visit his sister and her husband, who were students at Appalachian State University, a college Kevin and me were considering attending.
It was late fall, and on Saturday morning we loaded up our gear and went camping at Julian Price Park Campground (MP 297). That was the first time I took the loop hike around Price Lake, a walk I would take many times over the years while I was in college at ASU.
The next morning we drove along the Parkway to the south side of Grandfather Mountain, where the roadway abruptly ended. That was the missing link in the Parkway, and George and Karen said there was talk of building some high-tech, bridge-like road that would include curves that hugged the mountain. The engineering marvel that is the Lynn Cove Viaduct was completed in 1983.
It was at ASU where I met Lori, my wife, and 26 years later we’re still together and still enjoying the Parkway. Our first camping trip was to the Linville Falls Campground (MP 316), probably in 1984. We weren’t yet married, and we had a great time hiking into the gorge and later making our way down to the pool where the falls crash. Lori can’t stay out of a good swimming hole, and she talked me into testing the frigid waters.
That wasn’t the last time she talked me into doing something, and it wasn’t the last time we visited the Linville Campground. Since that first trip we’ve been back several times, taking our children and exposing them to the backcountry trails in the wild Linville Gorge.
Our first camping trip with one of our children was at the northern terminus of the Parkway at Shenandoah National Park. From Boone, we drove all the way up the Parkway, a trip that is breathtaking for its scenery. Inexperienced as parents, we learned a lot by taking a five-month-old camping in fall’s chill. Best of all, we learned early that children aren’t too fragile to handle a bit of adventure at a very young age.
Then there was the time we went with the Enterlines, great friends of ours from Blowing Rock, N.C. We hiked into Graveyard Fields (MP 418) for a trip that was part car camping and part backpacking. We only went a mile or so from the parking lot, but Tom and I ended up toting enough stuff for nine of us to spend only one night—tents, food, coolers, stoves, clothes. It was hell! I can still picture Tom hunkered down with a load something like the size of a refrigerator on his back.
Then there were the students from Western Carolina University who were also there that night, hooting and hollering and keeping us from getting much sleep. We laugh now at the memory, but we enjoyed a great day playing in the water at Graveyard Fields and a beautiful night in a camping area that is one of the places where hikers often get lost in the maze of trails.
Just a couple of years ago, I took my son and daughters—who are now teenagers—and one of their friends to Sam Knob, located near the Black Balsam Parking Area (MP 420.2). It was July, and we took windbreakers but weren’t prepared for the 30 mph biting wind that started howling as we reached one of the peaks that make up this interesting little mountain. We got our stove to work by creating a windbreak, ate our food, and crawled into our tents right at sunset. By morning the wind had subsided, but it was still in the 40s as we shared a great sunrise breakfast.
Other trips include Smokemont Campground at the Parkway’s southern terminus in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Balsam Mountain Campground (accessed from the Parkway but in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and a real hidden gem by my estimation), and Mt. Pisgah Campground.
We have spent dozens of nights in the woods around the Blue Ridge Parkway over the years, and as I sat down to write this, it occurred to me how this road has run through my life. The Parkway is often referred to as a ribbon of asphalt, and for many of us that ribbon ties a nice bow around some of life’s best memories.
Camping along the Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway has nine official campgrounds operated by Parkway staff. They do not offer full hookups but are equipped with restrooms, drinking water, picnic tables and grills, and most can accommodate sizeable recreational vehicles. Campgrounds are open May through October, with a per-night charge of $16. Reservations may be made at Price Park, Linville Falls and Mt. Pisgah campgrounds. All others are first come, first serve. To make a reservation, visit www.recreation.gov or call toll-free at 877.444.6777. Reserved sites are $19 per night. In addition, limited backcountry camping is available via permit at Basin Cove in Doughton Park, 336.372.8568 and Rock Castle Gorge 540.745.9661. Camping outside of designated campgrounds (or without a permit at backcountry sites) is prohibited.
Otter Creek (MP 61) at the Parkway’s lowest elevation near Virginia’s James River has 45 tent sites and 24 trailer sites.
Peaks of Otter (MP 86) is near the Peaks of Otter Lodge, Abbott Lake, the restored 1930s Johnson Farm, and a magnificent trail system. It includes a 62-room lodge, a 62-table picnic area, campstore, and a 141-site campground, which features 53 RV/trailer sites.
Roanoke Mountain (MP 120) has easy access to Roanoke, the largest city along the Parkway corridor. There are 74 tent sites and 30 RV sites.
Rocky Knob (MP 167) offers easy access to Rockcastle Gorge and is just nine miles from Mabry Mill. There are 81 tent sites and 28 trailer sites, restrooms, and a dump station for RV’s, as well as a campfire circle that accommodates up to 150 campers.
Doughton Park (MP 241) near Basin Cove, Bluffs Lodge, and an extensive trail system, includes 110 tent sites and 25 RV sites, restrooms and a campfire circle.
Julian Price Park (MP 297) is near Boone and Blowing Rock and close to the Moses Cone Estate. There are 129 tent sites and 68 RV sites in the Parkway’s largest campground.
Linville Falls (MP 316) on the Linville River and with access to the trail system into Linville Gorge Wilderness Area offers 50 tent sites and 20 RV sites, which sit on the banks of the Linville River.
Crabtree Meadows (MP 340) near the Crabtree Falls Trail and within 15 miles of Mt. Mitchell State Park includes 71 tent and 22 RV sites.
Mt. Pisgah (MP 408) is the highest Parkway campground at almost 5,000 feet elevation. Formerly part of the Vanderbilt Estate and near the US Forest Service’s Cradle of Forestry site, it has 70 tent sites and 70 RV sites. The campground also has the coolest temperatures and is the most secluded on the Parkway.