Blue Ridge Parkway is OPEN

Cold Mountain, NC, from the Blue Ridge Parkway

UPDATE:  All areas along the parkway have reopened to visitors.

The famed Blue Ridge Parkway is OPEN for those who would like to take the scenic drive to see the fall leaf change.  All facilities along the parkway, however, are closed due to the government shutdown.

According to the National Park Service, all visitor centers, historic sites, hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, picnic areas and restrooms along the Parkway are CLOSED. There are numerous towns along the Blue Ridge Parkway, however, to make up for the loss of some of these facilities.

Tunnel along the Parkway

October is normally a time of tremendous use of the Blue Ridge Parkway as drivers take the winding road for spectacular views of the fall leaf change in North Carolina and Virginia. According to the park service, around 70,000 visitors per day normally visit the parkway in October.

Graveyard Fields Waterfalls are Closed to Visitors

The closure of so many facilities is likely to reduce that total considerably and have a negative impact on towns, cities and communities all along its route. In addition to the 195 park service employees furloughed along the Blue Ridge Parkway, 200 employees of private businesses that contract for services also have been laid off.

Security officers, however, remain on duty to keep people from trying to visit any of the historic sites or other facilities along the road.

The National Park Service website for the Blue Ridge Parkway also is shut down, but you can read more about the beautiful road at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/blueridge1.html.

Leaf Watch 2013 locations for Alabama & Arkansas

Fall is coming to life in the Ozarks!

The shutdown of America's national parks is partially jeopardizing one of the favorite seasons in the mountains of the South - the Fall Leaf Watch.

Pea Ridge National Military Park, Buffalo National River, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, Little River Canyon National Preserve and all other national parks in the south, as well as national forest recreation areas, etc., are all closed.  These closures are having a major impact on the fall tourist season in the South as the federal government has blocked American cities from enjoying hundreds of thousands of acres of their public lands to enjoy Leaf Watch 2013.

Thankfully, state and local parks, state forests, etc., remain open.  Here is a list of some places in Alabama and Arkansas where you can still enjoy this year's Leaf Change.  All of these parks are open and ready to welcome you and your family!

A mountainside begins to turn from green to gold and red!

Alabama

• Bucks Pocket State Park
• Cheaha State Park
• DeSoto State Park
• Lake Guntersville State Park
• Monte Sano State Park
• Oak Mountain State Park

Arkansas

• Devil's Den State Park
• Hobbs State Park
• Lake Dardanelle State Park
• Lake Fort Smith State Park
• Mammoth Spring State Park
• Mount Magazine State Park
• Mount Nebo State Park
• Pinnacle Mountain State Park
• Petit Jean State Park
• Queen Wilhelmina State Park
• Withrow Springs State Park

You can check out many other locations across the South at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.

ALL Alabama State Parks remain open.

Cheaha State Park

I've been receiving quite a few questions about the status of Alabama State Parks as we approach the Fall leaf change.

ALL Alabama State Parks are open and ready for visitors!  This includes Cheaha State Park and DeSoto State Park, both of which adjoin Federal lands.  All state park roads, trails and amenities (lodges, cabins, restaurants, etc.) are open.

Federal lands in Alabama, however, have been closed due to the Government Shutdown.  Areas that are closed include:

• Gulf Islands National Seashore
• Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
• Little River Canyon National Preserve
• Natchez Trace National Parkway
• Russell Cave National Monument
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
• Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site

Little River Falls

In addition, all offices, recreation areas and trails in the Talladega and Bankhead National Monument are closed due to the federal shutdown. Even the National Park Service website is shut down.

ALL Alabama state historic sites are open as usual. These include Fort Morgan, Fort Toulouse/Jackson, etc.

There is no plan to close state operated parks and historic sites and no definite reopening date for national park and forest areas in Alabama.

Since you can't visit national park areas, feel free to look at photos and read about them (as well as Alabama state parks and historic sites) at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.