I drove the section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from mile 291.8 south to mile 328.6 in June 2017. I entered the parkway from US 221 and US 321 just north of Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
My first stop was at the Price Lake Overlook at mile 296.7. The 47-acre lake is impounded by a dam on Boone Fork, a tributary of the Watauga River. Price Lake is only a small part of the 4,200 acre Julian Price Memorial Park. Mr. Price, president of the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company of Greensboro, purchased the land in the 1930s and 1940s with plans to create a retreat for his employees. After his death in 1946, the land was donated to the National Park Service. The park facilities include a 197 site campground, a 100 site picnic area, several hiking trails, and the lake. Julian Price Park is also the northern terminus of the 13.5 mile Tanawha Trail that roughly parallels the parkway to Beacon Heights.
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| Reflections on Price Lake |
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| Forty-seven acre Price Lake |
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| Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) flower cluster |
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| Grandfather Mountain above Price Lake |
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| Parkway crosses dam on Boone Fork |
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| Looking down at the spillway from the road |
Entry to the park and parkway is free. A fee is charged for camping.
The parkway website is https://www.nps.gov/blri.
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