Visitor Centers, Campgrounds Close Temporarily
If you were planning on camping on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the coming days, you will want to seek other accommodations. The federal government shut-down means the Blue Ridge Parkway itself will stay open for travel during the attraction’s busiest month, but Parkway facilities will close until the impasse is broken in Washington.
Blue Ridge Parkway Deputy Superintendent Monika Mayr confirmed Tuesday morning via email that “the motor road will remain open.”
Visitor Centers and Campgrounds will close today. The NPS recently posted the normal Parkway facilities fall closing schedule which you can view here. If the facilities open back up in the coming days, that schedule will be in effect.
Most Parkway personnel have been furloughed, but law enforcement staff will continue working.
This is the second year in a row that the Parkway has experienced closures of some type during its busiest month. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy inhibited travel with heavy snow in the higher elevations at the end of October.
We update Parkway road closures every day at 8 a.m. Currently, 100% of the Parkway is open for travel.
Our Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Colors Tracker is updated each Thursday with leaf color information, including detailed milepost-by-milepost reports from along the 469-mile route.