Big part of scenic Blue Ridge Parkway closes to thwart crowds amid coronavirus crisis
The Blue Ridge Parkway, which attracts nearly 15 million visitors annually, blocked off a large section late Tuesday to stop crowds from gathering in wilderness areas amid the coronavirus outbreak.
National Park Service officials announced that 14 miles of the southern-most section in North Carolina “will close effective immediately.”
That stretch of the the scenic highway is among the most popular parts, running from Soco Gap to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
On April 1, the parkway announced even more closures, including James River Picnic Area, Moses Cone Manor House and Craft Center, Price Park Campground and Picnic Area, Linville Falls Campground and Picnic Area, Craggy Gardens Visitor Center and Waterrock Knob Visitor Center
Those site will remain off limits until at least May 1, officials said.
The National Park Service said other sections of the parkway remain accessible but could close as officials “continue to assess changing conditions in our region.”
The announcement came just hours after the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced it was closing until April 6 after being overwhelmed by as many as 30,000 people a day in the past week.
National parks typically see an uptick in visitors this time of year due to warmer weather and spring break, officials said. However, the coronavirus outbreak has caused a bigger jump in attendance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging people to avoid gathering in crowds of 10 or more, and the Great Smoky Mountains says visitors were violating that “social distancing order.”
Coronavirus is a potentially fatal virus that is spread by close contact with an infected person or touching something they handled even days earlier. The United States has more than 55,000 confirmed cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 6:45 AM.