Craggy Gardens Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway
The Craggy Gardens Visitor Center is first and foremost a gift and book store, but there is also an information desk where you can pick up a park brochure and the Blue Ridge Parkway Outdoor Guide, a tabloid magazine-size publication that gives you the most information about the Parkway. There is a minor exhibit on the plants that grow in the area. Modern restrooms are available whenever the Visitor Center is open, and there are portable toilets at the parking lot for when it is closed.
The Visitor Center is generally open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM from mid-April through mid-November. To get the current schedule, visit the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Inside the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway
There is an excellent view of the mountains from the back window of the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center as well as from just about anywhere in the parking lot.
Excellent view of the mountains from the parking lot of the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway
One end of the Craggy Gardens Trail begins at the Visitor Center. This is a .8-mile one-way trail that runs between the Visitor Center and the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area. You can also access the Mountains to Sea Trail, a 1,150-mile trail that stretches from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the North Carolina Outer Banks. The trail is not part of the National Park system, so I did not hike it, but you can get more information on the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail website.
For information on all of the trails in the Craggy Gardens Recreation Area, visit the Craggy Gardens Hiking Trails web page.
Large parking area at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Next Stop South | Next Stop North | Craggy Gardens Recreation Area | Visitor Centers
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Last updated on October 12, 2024
