DEVELOPED SITES ON THE PARKWAY

The nine developed sites along the Blue Ridge Parkway provide food, lodging, information, restrooms, hiking and interpretation. Campgrounds are open from May to November with fees charged on a per night basis, which includes two adults over age 18. Children accompanied by an adult camp free. Drinking water, RV dump stations and restrooms are provided. None of the campgrounds are equipped with showers, electrical hook-ups or laundry services. Winter camping is occasionally available. Inquire in advance, as facilities are limited. Reservations are not accepted for campsites. Rooms are available at Lodges and may be reserved by phoning the numbers as listed.

The Parkway’s Otter Creek area provides a campground with 45 tent and 24 trailer sites, restrooms, water, and a campfire circle. Many of the campsites are along the banks of Otter Creek. 

The 3.5-mile Otter Creek Trail follows the creek down to the James River Visitor Center.  The trail can also be accessed from the next three overlooks to the south at MP 61.4, 62.5 and 63.1. At the visitor center the James River Canal Trail will take you to the restored James River and Kanawha Canal Lock that was built between 1845-51. When completed the canal had 90 locks and went from Richmond to Buchanan, Virginia.

Area hikes include: Trail of Trees, Otter Creek, Otter Lake Loop and James River Canal Trails. 

Open year-round, the 62-room lodge’s number is (540) 586-1081.  Behind the lodge is Abbott Lake, named for Stanley William Abbott, the Parkway’s first resident landscape architect and planner. The 24-acre lake features a one-mile loop trail, and is stocked with smallmouth bass, catfish, golden shiners, sunfish, and blue gill. Fishing is permitted with the appropriate license.

The visitor center offers restrooms, water, and an amphitheater. It is open May through October. Postcards, books, and other items reflecting nature and local-interest themes are sold here, and the center features an exhibit on wildflowers, birds, and animals of the Blue Ridge.  Bus rides to within 1,500 feet of the Sharp Top summit are available at a station not far from the visitor center.  Sharp Top is historically significant as it marked the northern most boundary of the Cherokee Nation. This area includes a 62-table picnic area, campstore, and 141-site campground, which features 53 RV/Trailer sites.

Area hikes include: Sharp Top, Elk Run, Harkening Hill and Johnson Farm Trails.  

Historic buildings include: Johnson Farm and Polly Woods Ordinary.

           Rocky Knob has a campground with 81 tent and 28 trailer sites, restrooms and a dump station for RV’s with a campfire circle that accommodates up to 150 campers. The picnic area consists of 72 tables, restrooms, phone and picnic shelter. Route 758 is accessed on the West Side of the Parkway and leads to the Rocky Knob Housekeeping Cabins one mile away. National Park Concessions, Inc. operate the cabins, which also runs the gift shop and restaurant at Mabry Mill (176.2). For cabin reservations and information, call (540) 593-3503.

         AArea hikes include: Rockcastle Gorge, Black Ridge, Rocky Knob Picnic Area and Round Meadow Creek Trails.

There are 110 tent and 25 RV sites, restrooms and a campfire circle at this campground (Parkway’s east). To the west, you will find the Bluffs Coffee Shop, service station, and information center and to the east, the 24-room Bluffs Lodge and a picnic area, for information call (336) 372-4499.

Also to the east is Wildcat Rocks Overlook. It, like the lodge, is on the left fork of the road.  A short trail leads up to the overlook where a sign describes the homestead of Martin Caudill, which can be seen in the valley below the overlook.

Area hikes include: Bluff Mountain, and Fodder Stack Trails.

Area historic buildings include: Brinegar and Caudill Cabins.

This Campground has 129 tent and 68 RV sites and those on Loop "A" are located near Price Lake. Several hikes can be reached from the campground and include: Boone Fork, Price Lake, Gwyn Memorial and Tanawha Trails.

This campground has 50 tent and 20 RV sites which sit on the banks of the Linville River. It is the Parkway’s smallest and most popular campground. Linville Falls Visitor Center (MP 317.8) hosts 350,000 visitors annually, Linville Falls is probably the most famous waterfall in the Blue Ridge.

Area hikes include: Flat Rock, Camp Creek, River Bend, Duggers Creek, and Linville River Bridge Trails

The brilliant pink crabtree blossoms each May was once the cornerstone of this area’s wildflower display. Though there are hardly any crabtrees here now, the area still offers an impressive array of wildflowers each spring. The campground has 71 tent and 22 RV sites. Crabtree Falls Loop Trail is a 2.5-mile, strenuous hike to the 70-foot-tall falls. For information call (828) 675-4236

For generations, Pisgah has been a popular mountain retreat for travelers. The modern facility includes a balcony  and private porches offering an incredible mountain-view of Pisgah National Forest. The dining room serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Pisgah Inn and all its facilities usually open in April and operate through October, for information call (828) 235-8228. Mount Pisgah Campground has 70 tent & 70 RV sites. The campground is the highest, coolest and most secluded on the Parkway. 

The campground is located in Flat Laurel Gap. A granite rock base forms a bowl in this gap, so there is little run-off and the area remains wet creating the 85-acre Flat Laurel Gap Bog. A rare example of the southern Appalachian bog and its ecosystem.

Area hikes include: Buck Spring, Mount Pisgah, Picnic Area Loop and Frying Pan Mountain Trails.