Blue Ridge Parkway - Early April

[valhalla360]

Been north from the SE up to Michigan multiple times. Usually take I-75 if on a schedule. Otherwise, we've swung east and hit the Smokey Mountains NP.

Looking for something new, we are looking at the following:

- Starting at Charleston SC
- Stop at Congaree NP (never heard of it until looking at routes)
- Work up to Asheville NC.
- Do a day trip with just the truck to hit the southern end of the BRP with the low clearance tunnels. (Also hit Biltmore)
- From there pull the trailer up the parkway over 2-3 runs with stops for a few days along the way.
- At the north end, hit Shenandoah NP for a few days.

We aren't on a schedule so if there is any late season snow, we would just hold up for a couple days until it melts.

We are pulling a 25ft travel trailer (10'6" height).

Any thoughts or concerns we should have?

[KD4UPL]

Just 3 weeks ago part of the parkway was closed right at Afton Mountain in VA where it ends and transitions to Skyline Drive. I don't know if it's open yet there or not.
In my opinion April is plenty early for driving thru the high mountains. Snow is quite likely.
The last time we camped up there we took 4 days to go from Afton, VA to Galax, VA. I wouldn't want to do it any faster.

[Desert_Captain]

Not many campgrounds open that time of year especially right on the Parkway but if you venture off there should be some available. For those who drive down the middle due to low tunnel clearance PLEASE DON"T. If you cannot safely/comfortably fit within the posted heights while staying in your lane you DO NOT belong on that road.

Can you tell I like to ride motorcycles and NEVER, EVER cross a double yellow line for any reason regardless of what I am driving. Want a cheap thrill? Look up from your vehicle/motorcycle/RV and spot someonel 6' or more into your lane coming right at you. BTDT and it falls somewhere between vehicular assault and attempted manslaughter. Not every rig safely fits on every road... seriously!

:S

[RoyF]

We did the Blue Ridge and Skyline drives in 2016. That part of the trip was 21 days. One wants to stop at viewpoints and at places of interest along the way, so we found that 50 miles on the parkway and return to base was plenty for one day. Given that, we chose three-day base camps about every 100 miles: one day for moving camp, one day up the parkway and back, one day down the parkway and back.

We used private RV parks that were close to the parkway, and we did not take the fifth-wheel trailer on the parkway. The main reason for that was so we could have the option of turning around whenever we wanted to. (There are not many places on the parkway where you can turn around while towing.) Also, parking at viewpoints is sometimes difficult if you are towing. (But it is possible that you may have lighter traffic in April.)

[wanderingaimles]

A +1 for Fairystone State park in Va, as well as a possible side trip above Lynchburg Va at Crabtree Falls.
In NC a stop for Mount Mitchell is a decent diversion, highest point east of the Mississippi, interesting that the trees and plants there (Spruce and Fir) look like your in Maine. Take a jacket, temps up there, el 6680' can be cool even in summer.

[agesilaus]

Should be no problem. We were up there a couple of months ago and a section of the parkway was closed north of Ashville so you may want to check their website to see if it is all open.

[rirish1]

We drove the complete length of the Blue Ridge Parkway last summer with a TT that is 12ft in height. Several of the tunnels in the southernmost
section were close to being too low but passable. We slowed down and drove through the "middle" without problems, just increased anxiety. There was a section in Virginia that was closed for construction which was easy to bypass. Don't expect to travel much faster than 30-40mph. I believe that it took about 4 days from Cherokee, NC to Shenandoah NP. Didn't have much trouble finding campsites and stayed at private, national forest, and state park campgrounds. We especially liked "Fairy Stone" state park in southern Virginia where we stayed for 3 days. Nice trip overall but a couple of days were rainy and we missed out on lots of beautiful views due to the clouds. We would do it again but only as a leisurely drive.