One of the national parks I have been to is the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park. It is a highway that is 469 miles long. It runs from Shenandoah National Park, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is bordered by several national forests. These include the Pisgah National Forest, Cherokee National Forest, and George Washington National Forest. The Parkway runs through the states of Virginia and North Carolina. There are also many things to do along the Blue Ridge Parkway, such as camping, hiking, and picnicking. There are also attractions to visit such as the Linn Cove Viaduct, Linville Falls and Mount Mitchell. The hiking trails range from 0.1 miles to 18.5 miles and are classified as low, moderate or strenuous difficulty. In total there …show more content…
They are: Otter Creek Campground, Peaks of Otter Campground, Rocky Knob Campground, Doughton Park Campground, Price Park Campground, Linville Falls Campground, Crabtree Falls Campground, and Mount Pisgah Campground. The campgrounds are open from May 6th to October 31st with the exception of Price Park and Linville Falls Campgrounds, which open on April 1st. There are 11 picnic areas along the parkway as well. The picnic areas are open year round, however there is no water or facilities from October 30th to April 15th. There are about 200 overlooks along the parkway at which you can pull off, get out and look at very beautiful scenery. One thing that makes this park so special is that the park land is only the road and it’s shoulders as well as the overlooks and campgrounds. The Parkway was declared a National Park on June 30, 1936.
The final section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Linn Cove Viaduct, was completed in 1987. The Viaduct is 1243 feet long and made of 153 concrete sections that were precast at a facility at the end of the Viaduct. It was built with precast concrete sections so as not to disturb the land underneath the Viaduct. It is supported by seven concrete piers. There is a visitor’s center at the end of the Viaduct. There you can see how it was built and buy Blue Ridge Parkway