ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A piece of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County has been closed for more than two years and there is no sign it will reopen any time soon. Roanoke Mountain Road has been off-limits since the remnants of Hurricane Michael hovered over the parkway in late 2018. Despite the barricades, some people have stepped around the roadblocks and used the abandoned road as a hiking path to the Roanoke Mountain Overlook. “My wife and I walk just about every morning,” said Blue Ridge Parkway visitor Bill Van Thiel. We walked up to the top and walked back down to the bottom.”Van Thiel believes the National Park Service should consider permanently closing Roanoke Mountain Road to cars.

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Mountain overlook is about a 2 mile round trip hike that is a great way to start the morning! You’ll park off the Blue Ridge Parkway right at the Roanoke Mountain Road intersection. With each turn up the road, the view through the trees got prettier and prettier. As we came upon the overlook, you can see the mountains start to pop up in front of you. The view was amazing, and the overlook had photos that showed what mountains were where- you could even see the tip of the Mill Mountain Star from the top.