Rough Butt Bald View stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway

View: ♦ ♦  / 5
Trails: None
Picnic Tables: None

The identification sign at Rough Butt Bald View is cocked in a peculiar manner, so I am assuming that if you look out over the top of it that you are looking at Rough Butt Bald, two humps that resemble butt cheeks if you use your imagination (though I doubt that’s where the name came from). Trees block much of the view, and without some sort of intervention, in a couple of years the mountains will disappear behind vegetation. Rough Butt Bald is one of four overlooks within two miles of each other on the Blue Ridge Parkway, all of which have excellent potential but suffer from the same problem. The other three are located north of here.

There is still a nice view at Rough Butt Bald View, but it’s not from above the sign. Instead, walk to the other side of the parking lot and you will find a somewhat narrow scene book-ended by tall trees. This is depicted in the panoramic image below. What you can’t see in the photo is that the view extends well beyond these trees on either side, but more trees—very tall ones—block most of it. Even though the overlook is elevated high above the ground below, these trees have grown so tall that they have not only reached the viewing area but surpassed it. It would take some effort to cut them down, but only about a dozen trees need to be removed in order to restore what has a potential to be one of the better overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway.