Almost 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia reopens

(CNN) — A good stretch of the popular and winding Blue Ridge Parkway is now reopened for safe motoring and scenic fall viewing following Hurricane Helene.

The parkway reopened on Friday from milepost 0 to milepost 198 in Virginia, the National Park Service said in a news release. The entire parkway had been closed because of damage from Helene, which at last count on Friday had taken 238 lives and caused tremendous damage in the Southeast.

The reopening includes 198 miles (319 kilometers) of the scenic byway from Shenandoah National Park south to Virginia Route 685 - Skyview Drive/Turkey Ridge Road, near the town of Fancy Gap, the Thursday news release said.

The NPS aims to reopen the rest of the parkway in Virginia within two weeks, the release said. All of the parkway in North Carolina, which was harder hit by Helene, remains closed.

“Due to the hard work of the Blue Ridge Parkway crews, we are able to open nearly 200 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, a vital and scenic route that both embodies the natural beauty and cultural heritage of our region,” Tracy Swartout, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, said in the release.

“While we celebrate this achievement, we also recognize that significant and, in some areas, long-term work remains in North Carolina,” Swartout said.

Details of the parkway reopening

Planning to go? Here’s what you can expect along the route, according to the NPS release:

• The Humpback Rocks, James River and Peaks of Otter visitor centers will be open.
• The Mabry Mill Cultural Site will be open, and the Eastern National/America’s National Parks sales outlet will operate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
• Peaks of Otter and Rocky Knob campgrounds will operate on a first-come, first-served basis until Monday. After that, existing reservations will again be honored. Peaks of Otter Lodge will continue to operate (it did not close after the storm)

If you’re planning on parking your vehicle and taking a hike, the NPS warns that it has not finished its trail assessments, so exercise caution as well as your legs. You also might find fewer services than normal as many workers are helping out in North Carolina, the release said.

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