When Hurricane Helene ravaged much of the Southeastern United States in September, the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway also took a beating.
Most years, the 469-mile parkway, which winds through the Appalachians in North Carolina and Virginia, tops the list of the most visited National Park Service properties, dazzling travelers with waterfalls, mountain vistas and lush forests. Despite the storm, the parkway still ranked second last year, with nearly 17 million visitors, after the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Landslides, flooding and fallen trees caused by the hurricane’s heavy rain and high winds caused extensive damage to the parkway, closing the entire road for about two weeks.
Maintenance crews have repaired much of the damage over the last several months, despite layoffs and budget cuts at the N.P.S., though sections of the roadway as well as some campsites and a destroyed visitor center remain closed indefinitely.
Here’s what to know if you plan to visit the parkway this summer.
What happened?
Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 250 people across seven states and caused nearly $80 billion in damage, dumped up to 30 inches of rain and brought wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour along parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The storm destroyed the visitor center at Linville Falls and caused at least 57 landslides along the parkway in North Carolina alone.
Park employees have worked tirelessly to restore the roadway and its surrounding amenities despite the staffing and budget cuts, said Eboni Preston Goddard, the Southeast regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
“There’s been a lot of progress, but some of the impacted areas were just really, really bad,” Dr. Preston Goddard said. “Be patient, be kind, and thank the rangers you see.”
What’s open and what’s closed?
Nearly 400 miles of the parkway are open for visitors, including the entire Virginia side. But three campgrounds and more than 80 miles of the road in North Carolina remain closed, including Mount Mitchell State Park, home to the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
Two campgrounds along the parkway were set to reopen over the weekend, joining three that opened on time for the summer season. Two other campgrounds remain closed indefinitely because of damage from Helene, and another may open later this year.
Park officials established a detour route around a stretch of closed parkway from east of Boone, N.C., to Cumberland Knob, near the Virginia state line.
“If you’re coming to the area and typically would take the parkway, we would encourage you to enjoy the time that the detours give you in our small towns,” said Kitty Honeycutt, executive director of the chamber of commerce in Ashe County, N.C. She said towns along the parkway are eager to welcome back visitors, especially after the storm made last fall’s leaf-peeping season, usually a major tourist draw, “virtually nonexistent.”
Still, routine maintenance may cause sporadic closures even in areas that have reopened since the storm. Visitors can check the N.P.S.’s milepost-by-milepost road closures list, updated regularly, for the latest information.
When will the rest of the parkway reopen?
A park service web page warns that visitors “may experience the ongoing effects from this storm for many months, and even years, as we continue our recovery efforts.”
A spokeswoman for the parkway said officials hoped additional road sections and campgrounds may open this summer or in the fall.
For those on the North Carolina side looking for nearby alternatives to the parkway, Rita Larkin, a spokeswoman for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, recommended attractions like the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, a 3,500-acre former textile magnate’s estate managed by the park service, or the Orchard at Altapass, a nonprofit apple orchard where some trees are nearly 100 years old.
“Even if you can’t drive the entire route, part of the parkway experience is the communities around it and all the things they offer,” Ms. Larkin said.
And while some extra planning will make for a smoother visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway this year, Dr. Preston Goddard said the scenery makes the effort well worth it.
“The views are still going to be there,” she said. “They’re still beautiful.”
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