r/BlueRidgeParkway

Hi all: my wife and I will be in Appalachia in October and are interested in a drive/camping trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We have never camped in the Eastern US where public land is scarce. We have a self contained overland rig so hookups are not needed. Any recommendations for places to camp or avoid? Thanks!

So my friends and I are planning a trip to Bryson city/ tail of the dragon. We are planning on 5 nights. I was just reaching out to see what are some can’t miss spots to stop. Or some not known about rides that are amazing. Best restaurants. Coolest waterfalls. Please give me all the stuff!
Where did y’all stay. I’m looking at airbnb and Vrbo. Most of them are saying the gravel roads are too loose for a motorcycle to drive up them. So now I’m wondering where did you guys stay? My friend reallly wants a hottub for after the long riding days.
We leave in a little over a week this has been a very last minute trip because we all happened to take the same week off!

Looking for recs for road trip to Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains. Thinking 5 days. Best route? easy hikes? Best places to stay along the way? Fly into Asheville out of Gatlinburg, vice versa, or in and out of one City?

My family and I were in the area this week and fell in love. This place has all the best food, people, and outdoors! You have to check out Louise’s Kitchen and Blue Ridge Biscuit to eat. The head over to MT Running Co to grad some gear and hit the trails.

Planning a trip along the southern end of the parkway in the coming weeks and I'm thinking about doing one of the first come first serve sites at Mt Pisgah for our last couple of nights.

We prefer high elevation camping, and I've done Balsam Mountain in the smokies as well as Mile High in Cherokee. Enjoyed them both, but I like to try new places.

My biggest questions are how secluded are the first come first serve sites? How was your general experience there? How are the bathrooms? (Mixed reviews on Google) Bears? Part of the reason I don't much care for a car camping in the Smokies in summer anymore is because of how many sketchy encounters we've had with bears roaming through the campground.

At the end of the day I spend more time backpacking than car camping, but this is more of a glamping trip to focus on Astrophotography, sunset views, and berry picking so we will be happy no matter what but I'm just curious what experience others had there. If you have any other high elevation camping recommendations near that area feel free to let me know. Thanks!

PLEASE everyone—slow down! We don’t need more of our bears getting hit by distracted and speeding drivers on the BRP!
SLOW DOWN! If you see one bear crossing the road or alongside the road…slow down! There will probably be another one or two or three! We just had a cub killed on the parkway by an ignorant driver. Don’t be that person! In North Carolina, we love our bears, and I bet Virginians do, too!
The same goes for deer! And watch out for the little critters, too. The BRP is a scenic highway with low speed limits, and several pull-outs where you can take in the views. While driving, slow down and pay attention, PLEASE!
I’m well aware that locals are also guilty of speeding and distracted driving. Let’s watch out for our wildlife!