US-221/321 Roan Mountain - Boone NC
If you are northbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway and would like to visit Roan Mountain during the rhododendron blooming season (sometime in June but it does vary from year to year), here's how to get there. (You can return following the directions, below, in reverse.) Just before the entry drive to Linville Falls is the cross-over of US-221 (milepoint 317.4). Turn left onto US-221 and follow it north toward Crossnore and Pineola. You will pass the intersection where NC-194 joins US-221 (from the left). Continue through Crossnore to the intersection where NC-194 departs (again on the left). Follow NC-194 now to its intersection with US-19-E. Continue on 19-E, now, through Elk Park, into Tennessee and over the mountain to the intersection of TN-143. Turn left onto 143, follow it up the mountain, back into North Carolina and the entry to the Roan Mountain Rhododendron Garden on your right.
If you are southbound on the Blue Ridge Parkway and would like to visit Roan Mountain, there is a neat back way in. (You can return following the directions, above, in reverse.) At about milepoint 291.9 US-221 and US-321 cross the Parkway. Take US-321 'north' through Boone into Tennessee, past Watauga Lake (on your right) to the intersection of US-19-E. Turn left on 19-E and continue to the intersection of TN-143. Turn right onto 143 and follow it up the mountain. Just after you reenter North Carolina is the entrance to the Roan Mountain Rhododendron Garden on your right. Bring your camera.