Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Foliage Reports and Updates 2018
The Blue Ridge Parkway fall foliage reports and updates 2018 have begun. Fall is officially here and the fall foliage season has begun along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia. It’s still warm but the forecast predicts cooler weather this week as approaching cold fronts are bringing those cooler autumn temperatures. By the end of this week nighttime lows will drop into the low 50’s. These cooler temperatures will accelerate the color development. There are hints of fall foliage colors now in the mountains along the parkway.
Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Foliage Reports
Experts are predicting peaks colors in the Boone area in NC between October 12 and October 16, 2018. The dogwood trees are already turning red but this is due to the shorter daylight and the normal growth season for the dogwood. There is also some hint of color just starting to appear in the sugar and mountain maples, sourwoods, sassafras, and black birch. Tulip poplar trees are also turning yellow.
The first areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway to show color are in North Carolina due to the higher elevations. Grandfather Mountain is predicted to peak first because of the elevation of 5946 feet. Mount Mitchell and Craggy Gardens are included in the first to peak locations along the parkway. These highest elevations typically peak the first week of October. Rough Ridge will also be another location to have color by the first of October.
Color spreads and peaks into the mid elevations usually about the second week of October. Over the next few weeks fall foliage colors will continue to spread and progress along the parkway into the areas of Craggy Gardens (MP 364 on the BRP) , Beech Mountain, Graveyard Fields(MP 418 on the BRP) and Watterock Knob (MP 451 on the BRP).
Areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia start to develop color later due to the lower elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Peak fall foliage for Virginia usually happen in the highest elevations between Oct 10 to October 20. Hawksbill Mountain with an elevation of 4,051 ft (the summit of Hawksbill Mountain) is the highest point in the Shenandoah National Park. Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway area a nice way to enjoy the fall foliage in Virginia.
Visit Travel Blue Ridge Parkway’s Fall Foliage page to find out when and where to go along the parkway to see peak colors this year.
Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Foliage
