Schedule for Blue Ridge Parkway Trip (southbound)

May 13-20, 2006

Click here for an Excel version of this table
Day
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
Date
 Saturday
May 13
 Sunday
May 14
 Monday
May 15
 Tuesday
May 16
 Wednesday May 17
 Thursday
May 18
 Friday
May 19
 Saturday
May 20
Miles/Day
 60
 60
 57
 62
 57
 43 *
 69
 61
Climb/Day
**
 4802 ft
 6322 ft
 6435 ft
 5617 ft
 6660 ft
 4680 ft
 7860 ft
 6225 ft
Start
Milepost
 0
 60
 120
 177
 239
 296
 339
 408
Start
Location
 Rockfish
Gap Visitor
Center
 Otter Creek
Campground
 Roanoke
Mountain
Campground
 Meadows
of Dan
Campground
 Doughton
Park
Campground
 Julian Price
Memorial
Campground
 Crabtree
Meadows
Campground
 Mt. Pisgah
Camground
End
Milepost
 60
 120
 177
 239
 296
 339
 408
 469
End
Location
 Otter  Creek
Campground		 Roanoke
Mountain
Campground		 Meadows
of Dan
Campground		 Doughton
Park
Campground		 Julian Price
Memorial
Campground		 Crabtree
Meadows
Campground		 Mt. Pisgah
Campground		 Cherokee,
NC
# Tent Sites
 42
 74
 ?
 110
 129
 71
 70
End
Campgr
Facilities
***
 Restaurant
(open 8-8),
pay phone,
but no store
Grocery 4 mi
South on 501
 Bathrooms,
Pay phone

 Hot showers.
Motel and
restaurant
across the street

 Bluff's Lodge
& Coffee
Shop at
MP 241.1
(great for
breakfast and has
a pay phone).
 Lakeside camping.
Bathrooms
only. No phones.
Stop at Miller's
campground (MP247)
to wash clothes.
 Visitor Center &
Camp Store has
some food and
supplies.  No
pay phone.
 Camp store,
laundry,
very nice
restaurant
at Mt. Pisgah
Inn (pay phone
at the Inn)
 There is a
Hardees about
1 mile from the
end of the BRP.
This is a good
place to meet
at the end.
Campgr
Phone
 434-
299-5125		 540-
767-2492		 276-
952-2292		 336-
372-8568		 828-
295-7591		 828-
765-6083		 828-
648-2644
Misc

Mabry Mill
(MP 176)
Mountain
House
Restaurant &
Blue Ridge
Motel at
MP 180
 Sparta, NC
7 mi from
  MP 229
(banks, laundry,
hardware store,
and lots more).
 Food 1 mile
S on US 221
access road
Left on Holloway
Mtn Rd at
MP 298.6.		 MP 334 take
226A to Little
Switzerland
(motels, etc)
MP331 - 6 mi
on 226 to
Spruce Pine, NC		 Mt. Pisgah Inn
828-235-8228
Very nice, but
reservations
are probably
necessary for
a motel room.
Breakfast
****
 Before start of
the trip
 Cook in
campground or
eat at Otter
Creek
(opens  8am)		 Cook in
campground
 Breakfast at
Mountain House
or Blue Ridge
Motel.		 Breakfast at
Bluff's Lodge &
Coffee Shop.
 Cook in
campground
 Cook in
campground
 Cook in
campground or
each at
Mt. Pisgah
restaurant
Lunch
****
 Pack lunch.
Whetstone
Ridge MP29
(picnic tables,
water, restrooms)
 Lunch at
Peaks of Otter
Restaurant
 Pack lunch.
 Pack lunch.
 Pack lunch
 Lunch at
Grandfather
Mountain
restaurant
 Pack lunch.
 Pack lunch
Dinner
****
 Dinner at
Otter Creek
Restaurant
 Cook in
campground
 Mountain House
or Blue Ridge
Motel rest.
 Cook in
campground
 Cook in
campground
 Cook in
campground
 Dinner at
Mt. Pisgah Inn
Restaurant

Notes:
* -    This is the shortest day - only 43 miles.  This works out well because campgrounds aren't available everywhere.   This is also one of the best days to
         explore.  It is well worth the trip to spend 2-3 hours on Grandfather Mountain.  It is privately owned and features a restaurant, a visitor center, a zoo
         with lots of bears, and their famous "mile-high suspension bridge" where you get an incredible 360 degree view.  You have to pay $14.00 to go up
         the mountain and no biking or hiking is allowed (the drive up is incredibly steep with no shoulders and many switchbacks).  I locked my bike next
         to the entry gate (it seemed pretty safe as it is in open view with security people stationed there) and asked someone for a ride.  Stopping at the Linn
         Cove Visitor Center is also recommended.  It is an engineering marvel.
**  -  The Blue Ridge Parkway requires just over 48,000 feet of vertical climb in either direction.  For an 8-day trip, this means about 6000 ft of climbing
          a day. The number of vertical feet climbed each day is probably a more accurate way to judge each day's difficulty than the number of miles covered.
*** - The campgrounds on the parkway are run by the National Park Service.  They are nice to look at, but have very little in the way of facilities.  They
          do not have showers or electricity.  They generally just have a nice bathroom and clean water.  Your main option for getting clean is to take a sponge
          bath at the sink with cold water!  The campgrounds in VA have pay phones, but the ones in NC do not.  The Meadows of Dan Campground; however,
          is privately owned so a hot shower is available!
****-The places to eat out are just suggestions, mainly based on what is available.

Author:  Paul Gordy
Email:  blueridgecyclist@cox.net