Those fun Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels can be more terrifying than icy curves in winter
The Blue Ridge Parkway has more than its share of razor-sharp curves, but the biggest danger on “America’s longest linear park” is those foreboding tunnels, according to the National Park Service.
There are 26 and each is risky in the winter, even on those occasions when the road is open only to hikers, the National Park Service said in a Friday Facebook post.
“Seriously, winter tunnels on the parkway are often some of the iciest places on the whole motor road,” the post advised.
“So if you are planning a winter hike on the parkway during winter weather closures, plan for slippery conditions and use caution.”
Some of the claustrophobic tunnels are nearly a mile long (Pine Mountain Tunnel) and just 11 feet high (Lickstone Ridge), according to Virtualblueridge.com. And they come complete with disconcerting names like Big Witch Tunnel and Rattlesnake Mountain Tunnel.
The tunnels are known to be popular with drivers, who frequently honk their way through for the echo effect, not to mention a few who switch off their head lights. The result is an otherworldly vibe, which is not accidental.
Gary Johnson, a retired chief landscape architect for the parkway, told Our State magazine in 2014 the tunnels were created with a “cinematic experience” in mind.
“It creates a lot of suspense,” he was quoted saying. “What are we going to see next?”
Blue Ridge Parkway staff have been criticized in recent months for closing large sections of the 469-mile park at the slightest hint of foul weather.
Park officials say extra caution is warranted due to the weather extremes: The parkway “varies over 5,000 feet in elevation,” officials explained in a Facebook post.
“It’s possible for temperatures to be in the mid-50s in one location but freezing temperatures and ice in the higher elevations,” park officials posted.
“In areas with tunnels, ice can take a long time to thaw if it occurs inside the tunnel. Icing in tunnels is one of the primary contributors to winter closures of the southern Parkway.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Those fun Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels can be more terrifying than icy curves in winter."