There was a time when the “No Gas for Next 50 Miles” sign at the US 74 exit on the Blue Ridge Parkway (MP 443.1) was an accurate warning, but it no longer serves the purpose.
This sign is a legacy to when gas was available on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It should now read "No gas next 400 miles". There is no gas on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Years ago, there were gas stations on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This sign warns next gas was once available at the Pisgah Inn after a long lonely stretch with no convenient access to fuel. That’s no longer the case.
You’ll also see the remnants of a gas station at the Crabtree Meadows Visitor Center (MP 339.5).
The Country Store at the Pisgah Inn was once a gas station. Now it's just a break spot and service for the campground.
The Park Service removed the gas stations yeas ago. There is no longer gas available on the Blue Ridge Parkway nor are there any signs directing you to the location of the nearest gas at an exit.
The only place you’ll find a gas station visible from the Blue Ridge Parkway is at Raps’ Deli at Orchard Gap (MP 193.8) in southern Virginia.
With the limited range of motorcycles and long stretches of isolated road, knowing where the gas stations are is one of those things that takes a lot of the worry out of a Blue Ridge Parkway trip.
You'll find the closest gas to each Parkway exit listed on each of my Blue Ridge Parkway maps and descriptions of the best roads nearby.
It’s one of the most useful features I’ve included on my maps – closest gas to each exit along the 469 mile ride. Sometimes it’s just a few miles, other times it can be quite a distance. Knowing which way to go can keep you from getting stranded and help you make the best use of your time.
In keeping with the park service’s ethic of minimal signage, this legacy warning sign should be removed.
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Wayne Busch - Cartographer
Learn Total Control
– Wayne Busch lives in Waynesville, NC, where he produces the most detailed and comprehensive and up-to-date motorcycle pocket maps of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains to help you get the most of your vacation experience. See them here – AmericaRidesMaps.com
Wayne is an advanced motorcycle instructor for Total Rider Tech teaching Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Rider Courses. Isn’t it time you looked into advanced rider training to ride more confidently and safely? It can transform your mountain riding experience. Total Rider Tech
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It’s all about the ethnic cleansing for United Nations Agenda 21. Great Smoky Mtn Nat Park is signposted as a United Nations Biosphere Reserve. Tellico offroad bikers are now banned, and the Park Service threatens to allow River Road to become rutted gravel.
“The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) has decided to take action in eliminating commercial activity along state right-of-way in the project area. This enforcement is intended to disallow persons from taking photographs of vehicles and motorcyclists with the intent of selling the photographs at a later date. The THP contends this activity is a hazard o public safety. It is recommended that signs be placed at the entrance of each end of the route advising this policy.”
-Tennessee Department of Transportation, ROAD SAFETY AUDIT REVIEW, STATE ROUTE 115 (U.S. 129 at Deals Gap Dragon), BLOUNT COUNTY, 25 July 2007
http://www.archive.org/details/TdotSafetyAuditReviewDealsGapDragonUs1292007
Too much traffic on River Road to let it degrade. Doubt we’ll see that change. Not that concerned about the Dragon either – since 2007 they added paved pull-outs along the road and there’s been no change in the photographers status. Killboy’s still going strong.
Did I miss something? We went from a post about the brp to the dragon?
Might as well remove the ‘gas’ sign. “Tourons” in cages will keep runninbg out of gas regardless. I dont even get on the brp around AVL without a full tank and I can range 225+ miles. Its just to easy to get ‘in a groove’ and end up in Cherokee when on a bike.