Blue Ridge Parkway 751935 · 1987 · milepost 304

A site about the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway: where the road runs, how it was built, and the rules that keep it looking like this.

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Section 5 / Mileposts

How the road is described

Numbering from Rockfish Gap, and the landmarks on it.

Wooden overlook sign for Rockfish Valley with hazy mountains and farmland below

Zero is at the north endMilepost numbering runs from Rockfish Gap in Virginia southward, so every landmark on the road has a number and the numbers only go one way.
The most photographed thing on the roadMabry Mill at milepost 176 is a preserved water-powered mill and is the single most photographed structure on the Parkway.
A stop that predates the roadThe Peaks of Otter were a destination long before the Parkway reached them, which is why the road bends to include them.
Twenty-six holes through rockThe Parkway's tunnels are faced in stone at their portals and were cut rather than blasted open, which is a cost decision that shows.

In this section

Wooden mill with waterwheel beside a pond, surrounded by autumn trees and their reflections — The most photographed thing on the road

A conical mountain peak reflected in a still lake beneath a partly cloudy sky — A stop that predates the road

Wooden scaffolding and timber supports frame a mountain tunnel entrance under construction — Twenty-six holes through rock

A site about the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway: where the road runs, how it was built, and the rules that keep it looking like this.

1935 · 1987 · milepost 304

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