Ferrin Knob / Blue Ridge Parkway
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway | Hiking to Ferrin Knob | January 2023
From our previous trips through the Asheville area, as well as driving most of the Natchez Trace, we knew that the Blue Ridge Parkway was a wonderful means of getting around the mountains, if slower than the interstate. However, traveling in the off season sometimes has its setbacks.
Prior to actually getting to Asheville, we had marked several prominent peaks, fire tower, and waterfall hikes along the stretches of the Parkway going North and South from Asheville. But once we actually got to Asheville and checked the NPS website for the Parkway, we were soon quite disappointed. Even though the ridge currently had no snow or ice, the parkway North of town was closed only a few miles up the road, and the road South wasn’t much better. We complain, but we know it’s also necessary both for safety and maintenance, so we still made the most of what we had.
On prior days, we would wake up, check the closure reports, and then hope that they would open more of the road the next day, but by day 3 we decided to just take the road South as far as it could go and see what we could see. I saved a minor peak that once held a fire tower in a vain hope that maybe the peak was cleared slightly, and we set off.
We picked up the Parkway south of Asheville, just off NC-191, and soon climbed up onto the ridge. Most of the views were to the South, featuring long valleys, but occasionally we were able to see further to the West along the ridge.
We allowed ourselves to hope that somehow, between 5 AM and now, the Parks Service had opened up the road just a few more miles, and maybe, just maybe, we could hike to Mt. Pisgah (a bald and fairly prominent summit). But the NPS website was true to its word, and we were stopped short well before any trails to Mt. Pisgah – and we just didn’t feel like putting in the extra 10+ miles of road walking.
We enjoyed the view from the final turnout at Stony Bald overlook and then packed a light lunch, crossed the road, and started back the way we came on foot along the Mountains to Sea Trail towards Ferrin Knob. We enjoyed the coolness of the day, especially as we warmed up going up and down the short inclines.
There wasn’t much of a view from the trail, and soon we were on the final approach to the top of Ferrin Knob, where there also wasn’t much of a view. But we just enjoyed being out hiking together. We sat on the foundation of the old fire tower and enjoyed some snacks before heading back down.
The trail passed by another pull out along the parkway and we decided that rather than going up and down all the little inclines, we would just road walk back to the car. Since we knew the road was closed ahead, there was very little traffic and we had no problems and significantly more views than from the trail.
Once back at the car, rather than just driving off, we sat down on the sidewalk to have some sandwiches and continued to enjoy the weather, sun, and views, as well as a little ‘people watching’ – or more accurately ‘car watching’. Eventually, we drove back down and finished our day. Unfortunately the Parkway did not reopen any sections during the rest of our time here, but that’s okay, because someday we have to come back and drive the entire thing. And now we know of at least two hikes South of Asheville that we’ll have to look forward to whenever that day comes.
