he Rangers are VERY protective of the BRP. They don't want you parking in the grass or anything like that.
Your are right in regard to camping, but pulling off to site see is totally allowed unless marked specifically (usually with boulders) that pulling off is not allowed. The key is you must have the vehicle completely off the pavement if there isn't a white line or completely past the white line if there is one present. There are also a couple of watershed areas where you are not allowed to pull off, but these areas are marked with a sign at the beginning and end of the restricted zones.
I often camp in the fall during leaf peeping season and do so without reservations. The only campgrounds that tend to fill up on the weekend are pisgah, linville, and Julian Price. From Sunday through Thursday, I've never had a problem finding a place to park in any campground. One advantage with the BRP and TCs, they will allow you to park in the "tent" section as long as you fit in the parking space. I have done this several times at Julian Price when the rv section is full. I do ask the ranger if I can find one though before setting up just to make sure policy hasn't changed.
I'm also sending you some other info in a PM with some other info about the area. .
