Advice on the Blueridge Parkway

Hello,

I live in northern Virginia. I am thinking about taking some landscape shots along the north end of the Blueridge Parkway.

Obviously the fall is a good time, are any other seasons worth the trip?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Spring for trilliums and other early flowers. Winter in snow but....you want 4wd vehicle and warm clothes. Between animals, landscape, and architecture (old buildings), there is always something o shoot.

As to snow shots, best to stay in VA. The folks that run the parkway in Asheville are somewhat anal. At even the slightest whisper of the four letter word "snow", they will close the parkway.I have seen the parkway closed many times without a single flake of snow on the ground only because it was forecast, but never happened.

In VA you have many small rural roads that connect to the parkway and as a result, closing the parkway is impossible. However, in NC there are many places where there are little or no side roads and as a result, they can successfully gate it off - which they do. But areas in VA are also the same. For example, going north on the parkway, after you come out of the northern end of the Roanoke area and begin climbing back up in elevation through the forest, there will be many closings.

Unless they built a new gate I do not know about, Mabry Mill is always accessible in snow. But from the VA side you will not be able to get to it because Rocky Knob will be closed.

As to spring, McAssan is correct about the trillium but even more. New growth on the parkway has a tendency to be a brilliant light green, unlike the deeper greens of (later) spring and summer. There is a short period of time in early spring where lots of ground flora develops while the trees are still stick trees. But when the tree canopy starts growing, the sunlight is cut off and that's the end of that for the season. Try to catch trips during that time, but remember because of elevations and temperatures, spring on the parkway comes later than spring in the flatlands. Hope that helps.

Thank you