ketchjb
Torrance CA
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Well, we are on the BRP going south to north and at mile 61. We are having some difficulties and are wondering if anyone else has had the same. First, we thought the NP campgrounds along the BRP would be open. We purposely went early to avoid heat, crowds, etc. The weather (5/4) is great - nice and warm but with occaisonal showers. We had planned on staying at the NP campgrounds (Doughton Park and Roanoke Mtn) but ran into 'Closed' signs. None of the literature the park service hands out has the schedule and the Rangers don't know it. The result is we drove hours before we found private campgrounds to stay at because they are miles off the parkway. This tends to make one cranky.
The other thing is that we think the signage on the BRP is very vague. Many times we have been confused by the signs; a sign will say something is a certain distance but then we don't see it?? There will be signs denoting a place but nothing there - no turn, no turnout??? We don't think we have had this problem elsewhere?
Don't get me wrong - it is beautiful drive but it seems to me the signs could be better.
Associated rant: twice on this trip we tried to enter an address into our GPS but it couldn't find it. In Gatlinburg the street the KOA was on had been renamed and did not appear. The KOA in Natural Bridge, VA address would not work either. OK, you can tell me I should have bought the more expensive GPS. Has anyone else experienced this?
Signed,
Cranky after driving two days too long......
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rv2go
Somewhere between Knoxville, TN and the coast.
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March 12, 2008
Parkway Announces 2008 Spring Openings
Parkway facilities will begin opening in mid April on a staggered schedule with all facilities open by mid May.
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mockturtle
Northwest
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Joined: 05/31/2005
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Their web site says the campgrounds are open 'from early May...'. Not very specific. It's a shame you had to find out the hard way but it's a helpful 'heads up' for the rest of us about some potential issues.
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samsphones
north carolina
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Why not call first and make sure they are open, sounds like self made problems to me, not the Parkway.
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Cheddarhead
Northern Wisconsin
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Seems to me the weather should be good and the parks should have been open. What are they waiting for?
Sorry to hear your mis fortunes but thanks fo sharing. I thought about doing the trip some day and would do it in the off season to avoid crowds, now I am not so sure.
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HarryWM
Wherever we are parked this time.
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Joined: 08/23/2004
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If the defense of both the National Forest Service and National Park Service, they both depend on seasonal hire personnel and volunteers to run those campgrounds. They cannot acquire those people based on the fact that there has been some nice weather, they have to have firm dates for hire, utility turnon, concessionaire openings (stores, restaurants), etc. The campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive, the Northern portion of Blue Ridge Parkway) have firm startup dates; we are heading there now to be ready for the May 16 opening at the campground at which we will be hosting for the summer.
Harry
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wayne_tw
South Dakota/Georgia
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Annoying, yes. However, with a little planning on your part, you could have avoided the annoyance. It sounds like you just assumed that the campgrounds would be open without checking.
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pamvanw
southeastern pa
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It's probably inconceivable to someone from sunny California that campgrounds wouldn't be open by May  I'm from PA and I wouldn't have thought to check!
Pam
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ketchjb
Torrance CA
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OK, so now I gotta plan ahead?  I was just trying to plan a little spontaneity and stop where we felt like it. That was the purpose of going early to avoid crowds.
No disrepect to the service folks. They do a great job.
We'll just plan on going to private campgrounds until after May 16.
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narcodog
Georgia
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Joined: 04/02/2006
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They are most likely having staffing problems. The GSMNP has posted that some parts of their camp grounds will not be available until later as they are having staffing problems.
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