The Lynn Cove Viaduct is located at milepost 304.6 on the Blue Ridge Parkway where it skirts Grandfather Mountain at an elevation of 4100 feet. It’s just outside the town of Banner Elk, NC. and not far from Boone, NC., convenient midway stopping points for a cruise down our nations longest National Park.
Completed in 1983, this was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway linking the northern parts through the highlands of Virginia with the southern section through the highest mountains in the east. Too long for a tunnel, the Lynn Cove Viaduct provides an elevated bridge across a section of mountain too steep, rocky, and unstable for a roadway. While it is one of the most photographed features of the parkway with it’s dramatic “S” curving platform, those photos you may come across are from a vantage point not easily reached from the road. Fact is, you may not recognize you crossed it while cruising along the parkway unless you’re looking for it and know where it’s found.
For a better view of it, exit the parkway and ride a few miles down NC 221, one of the best roads recommended on America Rides Maps NC008 – “Great Roads Near Boone, Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock“. Pass the entrance to Grandfather Mountain, continue through a few of the wonderful curves that skirt the mountain below the parkway and look for a turn with a large gravel pull out. That’s where I got this picture, good enough to be used as the cover photo for the map.
For too many travelers, this area around Boone, Banner Elk, and Blowing Rock is overlooked. It’s a great stopping off point to pass a night, and you can see a few of the attractions with short rides between the towns. My explorations discovered a wealth of great backroads in the area with rides that extend acorss the borders into Tennessee and Virgina, enough to make a stay of a few days a rewarding expereince. The map lays out three recommened rides, and tempts you with more roads waiting your discovery.
>> Go to America Rides Maps.com – http://americaridesmaps.com/