Welcome Back Does Not Mean Everywhere

The Deep Gap bridge has reopened near Boone. This is part of the larger picture of Parkway repairs and is worth noting in this column of ours.

On October 16, the National Park Service said access had been restored to 458 of the Parkway’s 469 miles. Of 60 landslide repairs, 48 were complete, with work underway on the final 12. Hurricane Helene damaged the Parkway in 2024.

I taught earth science for 32 years. I appreciate an account that tells us what has been measured and what remains.

The Deep Gap bridge at milepost 276.4 was closed for scheduled maintenance this summer. Its reopening is part of the current access picture, but its closure was not attributed to Helene in the fact sheet.

Loops B and D at Julian Price Campground, milepost 297, have reopened after Helene closures. Around Boone and Blowing Rock, the Park Service’s October 29 road status page showed the Parkway open from about milepost 276 to 308. Short stretches still had single lane closures for continuing repairs.

The Moses Cone Manor was open when I last checked. However, the Linn Cove Visitor Center was temporarily closed. This is relevant to the Parkway travelers as well as to the people that live near the Parkway. Just because a road is open near a facility that is closed to visitors does not mean that the visitor center is closed to the traveler.

The largest remaining closed section runs from milepost 344.2 to 355.3, between NC Highway 80 and Mount Mitchell State Park. This section of the Parkway is closed to all recreation, including hiking and biking. The restriction is not simply a statement about whether a car can get through.

The repairs for this section are expected to be complete by the end of 2026. This is honest work, hoping that the repairs will be completed in the expected time frame but not being able to guarantee it. Therefore, the section of the Parkway between NC Highway 80 and Mount Mitchell State Park will remain closed to all recreation for the time being.

Hiking at Crabtree Falls is not allowed following Helene damage. The Linville Falls Campground and Picnic Area remain closed after the storm. These places should keep their names in an account of recovery.

The Parkway Superintendent, Tracy Swartout, stated, “We are proud of the progress our employees, partners and contractors have made to restore access.” This is good news, and I want to give credit where credit is due. A road status update is impersonal, and the statement of the Superintendent gives recognition to the people who are working to get the Parkway open to visitors.

Swartout also noted that October is an especially important time for tourism in the region, and that people traveling to the mountains for fall color should be welcomed with care, and with as much good news as can be mustered, but with limitations on that good news so people can make plans and then be able to go to the places they want to visit.

I am a resident of Boone and appreciate the Parkway and the mountains very much. I want visitors to enjoy the mountains. I want the unfinished work respected too.

Note that the road status can change throughout the day after the page has been updated. The information provided for October 29 is what the page said for that date. It does not mean that the same conditions will exist for your travel on other dates.

I would prefer to have the honest limitation on access than false hope that there will be access to areas that are not yet open. Just as I value the student who can say where the evidence stops, I would like to have the same quality of information on Parkway access.

The Parkway’s current road status page is the source for this column’s local detail for October 29. Readers can use the link to see the agency’s account and its limits.

There is much to celebrate in this recovery. The bridge is back open. Campground loops have reopened. There is a lot of landslide repair that has been completed. Let the remaining closed areas of the Parkway retain their full meaning for now. Respect the recovery. Celebrate the completed work and leave the rest for the people who are still trying to repair it.