Blue Ridge Parkway
Four hundred and sixty-nine miles of park road along the crest of the Blue Ridge, from Milepost 0 near Waynesboro, Virginia to Milepost 469 near Cherokee, North Carolina. It does not close for the winter — but pieces of it close constantly, and that is the thing people actually need to know.
Does Blue Ridge Parkway close in winter?
Open all year
The parkway does not close for the season. The Park Service says so directly — facilities close seasonally, the motor road stays open.
What closes is sections. Winter weather can hold one shut for a long stretch: north-facing slopes, tunnels, high elevations and short sight lines, and the parkway limits ice-melting chemicals to protect what grows beside the road. The other kind of closure is damage, and it lasts far longer — Hurricane Helene tore up the parkway in western North Carolina in September 2024 and the repairs are still working their way down the milepost list. Either way the closure is posted by milepost, and the Park Service's closure map is the only current account of what is shut.
Conditions change by the hour at 6,053 feet on Richland Balsam — check Blue Ridge Parkway's status page before you drive. This page is trip-planning history, not road status.
The road itself
Designated in two pieces: the North Carolina length in 1996, the Virginia length in 2005.
The drive
-
Rockfish Gap, near Waynesboro, Virginia Milepost 0
The north end, where Skyline Drive hands over.
-
Peaks of Otter Milepost 85.6
Virginia.
-
Blue Ridge Music Center Milepost 213
Near Galax, Virginia.
-
Moses H. Cone Memorial Park Milepost 294
Near Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
-
Craggy Gardens Milepost 364
Near Mount Mitchell State Park.
-
Richland Balsam Milepost 431 6,053 ft
The highest point on the parkway motor road.
-
Cherokee, North Carolina Milepost 469
The south end, at the Great Smoky Mountains.
What's on the road
- Everything on the parkway is addressed by milepost, counting up from zero in Virginia — closures are posted the same way, section by section.
- The highest ground is in North Carolina: 6,053 feet at Richland Balsam, Milepost 431.
- The Park Service runs a real-time closure map, and in winter it is the only reliable way to plan a drive.
Nearby: Cherohala Skyway · Kuwohi Road
Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the roads on our scenic byway and seasonal road index — every road here, with its designation, length and winter in one table.
Where these facts come from
- NPS Blue Ridge Parkway: road status and closures
- NPS Blue Ridge Parkway: the mountains, and the highest point on the road
- NPS Blue Ridge Parkway: does the parkway close for the winter?
- NPS Blue Ridge Parkway: operating hours and seasons
- FHWA: America's Byways, the designated roster
Last checked August 25, 2026.
Blue Ridge Parkway: closing and opening questions
- Does Blue Ridge Parkway close in winter?
- The parkway does not close for the season. The Park Service says so directly — facilities close seasonally, the motor road stays open.
- What closes Blue Ridge Parkway?
- What closes is sections. Winter weather can hold one shut for a long stretch: north-facing slopes, tunnels, high elevations and short sight lines, and the parkway limits ice-melting chemicals to protect what grows beside the road. The other kind of closure is damage, and it lasts far longer — Hurricane Helene tore up the parkway in western North Carolina in September 2024 and the repairs are still working their way down the milepost list. Either way the closure is posted by milepost, and the Park Service's closure map is the only current account of what is shut.
- Is Blue Ridge Parkway open right now?
- This page is the road, not its condition this morning. National Park Service — Blue Ridge Parkway publishes the current state of Blue Ridge Parkway, and that is the one to check before you drive.
Watching a spring trip? The opening watch board follows every road we keep a record for at once.