"In the days after Hurricane Helene devastated the southern Appalachians in late September 2024, Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout went up in a helicopter to survey the damage. What she saw was deeply troubling.
"When Helene happened, we ended up with 58 landslides spread across 200 linear miles of the parkway," Swartout says. From the air, she adds, “I thought to myself, I can't envision when this is going to go back together, because you could just see slide after slide. It just seemed impossible."
That image is in stark contrast to today, the superintendent says, when most of the parkway’s iconic 469-mile length is open to the public. The historic scenic parkway winds along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains, connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks.
Hurricane Helene initially forced the closure of the entire parkway, and although the Virginia side reopened within a couple weeks, most of the North Carolina side remained closed much longer, affecting travel for both tourists and workers in western North Carolina. Area businesses along the route were deeply affected."
Kim O'Connell reports for the National Parks Traveler June 11, 2026.
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