Nitty gritty about traveling Blue ridge Pkwy in a Class C

[Cheryl_B]

I want to drive the full length of it on my way back north. I'm currently in GA but soon it will be too hot to stay.

I need to know about tunnels and clearances, where and if there are pull-offs that allow single overnight stays (just boondocking), if the twists and turns and ups and downs of the route compare to "The Tail of the Dragon" road I accidentally found myself on last December, and stuff like that.

I know there are towns along the route, so getting gas and propane and water and such shouldn't be a hardship, right? I don't want to stay in a campground though. Driving daily and it being early in the season, my battery will be fully charged and I won't need the a/c.

If overnighting on any of those pull-offs are forbidden, is it kosher to overnight in the towns, or do they harass you and chase you out? I really want to make this my route north but it wouldn't be wise to not look into it closely.

Thanks, y'all. Happy trails!

[TundraTower]

Yet another reason not to straddle the center line in the tunnels is that many of them, at least on the southern end, are CURVED tunnels (the roadway curves in the tunnel). You can't see the other end when you enter.

SURPRISE!

[RGar974417]

This is a National Parkway. Sounds like you're on a tight budget so if you are over 62, you can get the America the Beautiful pass for $10 which allows you free acess to any National Parks and half off campground prices.When we stayed in Yellowstone,it was $26 a night but we payed $13 a night.

[More_To_See]

I ran Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway South in late September last year and had no trouble at all with a 34 foot Class A hitting every single campground along the way. Most of those campgrounds were designed for 1950s Woody Ford station wagons and not modern RVs - - not that they would be open this time of year. And I'd be watching the weather too.

If you do a little map work you should be able to identify major roads crossing the parkway where you could drop down into the valleys for Walmarts and fuel etc. Don't just arbitrarily take a side road down off the mountains because you may end up following your own tail lights.

Somewhere roughly around milepost 300 or so there is an excellent Walmart at the little mountain town of Spruce Pine North Carolina. A highly recommended stop.

Through some of the tunnels you may feel a little more comfortable straddling the white line to be away from the arched side which I did assuming there was nothing coming towards me of course. But I don't know that it would have really been necessary.

If you do a little homework with a map and pre Identify some Walmart's and such off the parkway I don't think you'll have any trouble at all.

[Hondavalk]

If you have never been to the Biltmore Estate by Asheville, NC you should check it out.

http://www.biltmore.com/visit/biltmore-house-gardens

[Cheryl_B]

Thank you all very kindly for your advice and sharing your experiences. I've got my work cut out for me with all the links and stuff. That's a good thing, though. Happy times are planning times. It's in the doing that things get really messy. But, that's life. The Dragon was unintended but I wear that with great pride. Me and Beatrice! We conquered it! By the Grace of God and keeping a level head, we made it unscathed.

Sweet dreams, fellow travelers.

[Desert_Captain]

Cheryl_B wrote:
Draw the attention of the locals? Not sure what you mean. Like they won't want me to hang around for an overnight? I thought the age of my old girl would be an issue back when I first began, and was dumb enough to ask campgrounds if they had an age restriction. None of them say they do on their websites but all of them say they do if you ask them. If you just drive in and get a site, no one says a thing. Live and learn.

She does need an intensive bath, though. 😉

No offense intended but if you think you can just park a 30+ year old RV in town and spend the night.... well good luck with that. Most municipalities have restrictions {laws}, that prohibit that sort of thing. Just find a legitimate campground or a Walmart that isn't prohibited from offering their parking lot, check in and comply with their restrictions and you will be fine.

As noted above you cannot spend the night in any of the pull outs the parkway. Sadly there are a lot of folks in older RV's who, through their actions ruin it for others who are just legitimate gypsies/road warriors. Ah, reality.... what a concept. Good luck.

:C

[Terryallan]

As mentioned. Overnighting on the BRP any where but in one of the CG is not allowed. However. the Parkway CGs are primitive, no electricity, No water, no sewer hookup. There are dump stations. and not very expensive. VERY quiet. During the week, and many weekends. you will have them pretty much to yourself.

As for fuel. NO!!! there is none for sale on the Parkway. You will have to get off to get it. Google Fuel on the BRP. there is a guide to fuel just off the Parkway.


Restaurants as well are just off the Parkway, and there are some really good ones.

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=178. you should try this site

[scrubjaysnest]

Our height is 11 foot 3 inches, we can do all but the 3 southern most tunnels. Around Ashville you need to be very careful of bicyclists. They will take the entire lane width. Gotten so bad we avoid that section.

[Johno02]

Here is one of our required stops whenever we are over that way. There is a very nice campground at Meadows Of Dan, and the town is a nice visit. I remember there were a couple of nice restaurants. And as both of these are on top of the ridge, they are easy visits.

Chateau Morrisette - a required stop

[Cheryl_B]

Draw the attention of the locals? Not sure what you mean. Like they won't want me to hang around for an overnight? I thought the age of my old girl would be an issue back when I first began, and was dumb enough to ask campgrounds if they had an age restriction. None of them say they do on their websites but all of them say they do if you ask them. If you just drive in and get a site, no one says a thing. Live and learn.

She does need an intensive bath, though. 😉

[Desert_Captain]

Please do not listen to anyone who recommends straddling/crossing the double yellow lines. They are there for a number of very good reasons and should never be crossed. Oncoming traffic, especially motorcycles, can come out of the suns glare in a heartbeat and they have every right to expect their lane won't be encroached upon by other vehicles.

You didn't set out your heights but from your profile pic I doubt many of the tunnels would be an issue. The two lowest are south of Asheville and can easily be avoided. You will probably draw the attention of the locals given that your coach is 30+ years old but there are lots of campgrounds on or near the Parkway.

[Cheryl_B]

Thanks, everybody! I have my work cut out for me with all this information and great links to check out. I was just chatting online with Verizon about getting a mobile wifi hotspot cause I'm tired of being tethered to places with free wifi. I'm ready to cut the cord and do more boondocking. Then, my problem will be keeping my laptop charged up.

Oh, and believe me. The Tail of the Dragon was not my plan. Dang brand new GPS on its maiden voyage took me "the shortcut way." Once on, no way to get off. And no way to know how much longer it will go on. I've seen a video on Youtube where people drive like lunatics. Come from all over the globe, and to see that they don't have any seriously big signs at each end to turn away large rigs (even semi's) from entering, it's unbelievable. Thank GOD I didn't come head to head with another big rig. We'd still be there.

[DrewE]

The tunnels are generally arched/barrel shaped, so the clearance in the middle is much better than the clearance at the edges. The "official" height is quoted at the fog line, I believe; you should have no trouble with clearance if you hug the middle line, and definitely not if you go down the middle of the road (which does require some coordination with oncoming traffic, of course). Most of the tunnels are pretty short. Here is a list of tunnel lengths and heights (minimum and maximum).

There are towns not far from the parkway, but very, very few services actually along the parkway. Some of the roads leading to some of the towns are quite steep and/or twisty. A bit of research of the ones you're interested in using would be wise.

Be aware that there may well be sections of the road still closed around this time of year. This is the official map of current closures, etc.

Sleeping overnight in a vehicle (including an RV) in a pull-off is not permitted "for visitor safety."

[RoyB]

Need to download the Blue Ridge trail map PDF. It shows all of the camp grounds and mile posts etc... There is a camp ground and sometimes a way station about every 50 miles or so... The Way Station will have fuel and a nice resturant...

The camp grounds of course where originally designed for Tent Camping so you find them some what small in places... I have seen motorhomes in them. Of course you can get off the parkway and visit some close by camp grounds along the I81 corridor. Be careful where you pick to get off the parkway and some of those roads are very winding and share turns right at the top. I would only get on and off at the major roadways crossing the parkway...

One place is must do camping spot being Sherando Lake camp ground near the I64 road...

Also expect to have to get off the parkway to go around some large towns then get on the parkway again...

The MAX speed is not very high so expect a long journey haha... Also at dusk you may get run over by a herd of deer along the way... Don't get in any hurry... There is always alot of motorcycle traffic on the parkway - even some bicycles as well...

We have done the Tent camping with just our truck a couple of times and of late have made a couple of runs with our OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer from Virginia to TN at Gatlinburg.

Roy Ken