Rough Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

View: None
Trails: Tanawha Trail / Mountains to Sea Trail
Picnic Tables: None

There is no view of mountains at the Rough Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but there is a small cascade of water that flows down a steep, rock embankment. At the top is a bridge, which is part of the Tanawha Trail. In fact, the only reason to stop at the Rough Ridge Overlook is to hike the Tanawha Trail, a 13.5-mile trail that runs from the Beacon Heights Parking Area to Julian Price Park. The trail is littered with boulders and large rocks, making it a fun trail to hike as long as you don’t have bad knees and ankles. On a nice day during the summer or fall the place will be packed. When I stopped by during the fall, cars were lined up and down the Parkway.

The Tanawha Trail is also part of the Mountains to Sea Trail, a collection of shorter trails that when strung together makes a 1,150-mile path across the state of North Carolina, connecting Great Smokey Mountains National Park with the Outer Banks on the Atlantic Ocean.

Footbridge along the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Tanawha Trail crosses a small stream

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