Picnicking at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Craggy Gardens Picnic Area is typically open from mid-may until the end of the October. The exact dates of operation change each year, so before heading out on a picnic, be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The picnic area is located at the end of a road that is so long that you may begin to wonder if you made a wrong turn off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. If heading south, the exit is just past the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. The road is steep and winding, so I do not recommend driving RVs or vehicles pulling trailers to the picnic area. Along the way is an intersection with another road, but keep on driving straight ahead. The road will actually end at the picnic area, 1.1 miles from the Parkway.

You must really want to have a picnic to picnic at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area because most of the tables are located either up or down steep hills. Some hills are so steep that the tables only have benches on one side—the uphill side—because on the downhill side you’d need a bench as tall as a bar stool to reach the table top! All tables are made of stone and set into the ground, so there is no moving them around to create a group-like picnic area.

Tables located on the steep hills at Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Picnic tables are situated on three sides of an oval shaped, shopping mall-size parking lot. Both ends of the parking lot have about two dozen tables each, most of which are on steeps hill shaded by tall trees that provide a respite from the summer heat yet do not clutter the ground so much that it is like eating in a dark forest. There are about half as many grills as there are tables, and these are scattered around the area.

Parking lot at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Picnic tables at the far end of Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The most level picnic tables are located near the modern restroom building, which is at the end of the parking lot closest to the entrance. There are two tables for disabled visitors.

The most level ground at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Handicap table at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Craggy Gardens Picnic Area is located on one of the few flat areas

The hill at the far end of the parking lot is the steeper of the two and is part of the same mountain on which the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center sits atop. You can hike to the Visitor Center from here on the .8-mile, one way Craggy Gardens Trail. It is rated easy to moderate in difficulty. This trail follows the Mountains to Sea Trail for most of its length, so needless to say, you can pick up the Mountains to Sea Trail from here as well. For a complete listing of trails in the area, see the Craggy Gardens Hiking Trails web page.

Located on the far side of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Craggy Gardens Picnic Area is start if the Craggy Gardens Trail

Tables are also located on the hill between the road and the long side of the parking lot (the other side borders the forest and there are no tables). Here you will find another three dozen tables, many of which are out in the sunshine. Only those close to the far end of the parking lot are in the shade. No stairs lead to the tables, so you must carry your food and supplies down the grass hill. Like the rest of Craggy Gardens Picnic Area, grills are scattered about the field and are not specific to each table.

Tables located between the road and parking lot at Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Open air and shaded tables are located along the road to the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Craggy Gardens Picnic Area

Next Stop South | Next Stop North | Craggy Gardens Recreation Area | Picnic Areas

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