Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway, Section 2

General Information

From Jumpingoff Rocks at milepost 261 to the Linn Cove Viaduct at milepost 305, this popular section of the Blue Ridge Parkway continues south along the Blue Ridge. There are several popular tourist towns along this section - including Boone and Blowing Rock, and several popular recreation areas and hiking trails can be found as well.

The terminus of this section, the Linn Cove Viaduct, is an engineering feat - a first of its kind. Here, the Parkway winds around the high, rocky slopes of Grandfather Mountain (the highest mountain on the Blue Ridge at 5964'). The challenge for Parkway designers was to figure out how to cross a particularly fragile, sensitive habitat on this mountain without destroying it for a roadbed. The solution: a long, gracefully curving structure which spans giant boulders and soars above the treetops, built from the top down! A great trail, the Tanawah Trail, travels along and under the Viaduct and along the slopes of Grandfather Mountain.

Facilities

Here are the developed recreation areas along this section of the Parkway.

E.B. Jeffress Park

• Picnic Area/Restrooms

Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

• Visitor Center/Restrooms
• Parkway Craft Center

Julian Price Memorial Park

• Campground
• Picnic Area

Linn Cove Viaduct

• Visitor Center/Restrooms
• Unique perspective of marvelously engineered structure which marks the final section of the Parkway to be completed.