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As another fall leaf-peeping season approaches, about 33 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway remain closed because of damage caused by Hurricane Helene two years ago this week.
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The road remains closed to through traffic from Mount Mitchell State Park north to U.S. 221 near Linville Falls. Parts of that stretch remain open to local traffic, including to the Orchard at Altapass, and visitors can reach the state park and the highest peak in the Eastern United States from the south.
After Helene hit on Sept. 27, 2024, The National Park Service closed all 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Great Smoky Mountains to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The Virginia section was soon reopened, but the wind and rain damage was much more severe in North Carolina.
That was especially true at the highest elevations, where wind gusts of 100 mph or more covered the road with trees while torrential rains caused landslides both above and underneath the road. The park service counted 45 landslides along the parkway between Mount Mitchell and Linville Falls.
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The park service says it’s working now to restore those 45 sites and repair overlooks and guardrails. It says it hopes to have that work completed by the end of the year. The remote, mountainous terrain makes repairs more difficult; contractors can’t easily access some washed out areas until others are made passable.
Some facilities along the parkway, including the Craggy Gardens picnic area and the campground and picnic area at Linville Falls, remain closed because of Helene damage. For details about parkway conditions, go to www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm.
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