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I once saw a bit of snow in june when visiting mt.mitchell. So you never really know. In general, if there is snow or ice the entrances to the parkway are road blocked. I believe sometime in april & possibly as early as late march the road blocks come down.
We were down there last year April 8- 14, and parts of the BRP were closed all of that time. Not so much a problem of snow, but of ice. Depending on the precipitation, that can be an issue far into the Spring. I think I read somewhere here that the icicles that form in some of the tunnels can be really dangerous and often cause closures.
Cold closes the parkway because huge icicles form in tunnels, large enough to crush a car. I've hiked up to the tunnels north of Asheville, and the size of these icicles was intimidating..... no, it was scary as they had to weigh tons.
When it snows the BRP does NOT clear the road, they just lock the gates, and wait for it to melt.
A section near Craggy Gardens north of Asheville will likely be closed all summer due to danger of the road collapsing.
Several years ago 5 feet of snow stranded guests at the Pisgah Inn on the parkway in early April.
Generally speaking, after Easter is pretty safe . . . that said, Easter is early this year! They start taking the gates down around the end of April.
BTW, there will be a section near Boone closed for a long period, the Goshen Creek Bridge segment. Not exactly sure, but I think the detour will be from Bamboo Rd to Aho Rd, with a pretty straightforward shortcut. Total distance is about 2 miles or so. They are replacing the deck and resurfacing, and have 300 days to complete the job.
This will be more of an inconvenience to locals, since that is a popular shortcut from Deep Gap to Blowing Rock.
There is a free hotline for Blue Ridge Parkway information, including closed sections, etc. Phone number is: 828-298-0398. Call it to be sure where you are planning on going is opern. It is quite helpful.
Hope you are able to enjoy this spectacular National Park. I think it is fantastic.
From time to time, I use the BRP as a beautiful, "long-cut" to get home from S. Asheville. If it isn't the dead of summer, I will call for updates before I go. The one time I thought I'd be smart and not call, the parkway was closed at Brevard Rd., and I had to abandon my plans of a scenic, spectacular ride home a little more abruptly than planned.
The number gives info on the VA side as well as the NC side. Enjoy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJexpat
Many thanks for that phone number, jbird. I'm going to use it before I leave home!
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Snow on BRP
