Sights & Sounds
Activities & Interests
Doughton Park
One of the larger protected tracts along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Doughton Park, a 6,000-acre landscape of open meadows and pioneer cabins near Sparta, North Carolina.
Thirty miles of hiking trails run through Doughton Park, through pastures and meadows, coves and valleys, and along streams. The park is one of the best places on the Blue Ridge Parkway to view wildlife, including white-tailed deer, raccoons, red and gray foxes and bobcats. Flame azalea and rhododendron bloom in the late spring. Guided nature walks and craft demonstrations are offered in the summer season.
The pioneer cabins include the Brinegar Cabin (ca. 1885) and the one-room Caudill Cabin (ca. 1895). Other structures were lost in the great flood of 1916.
Doughton Park also offers a lodge, a restaurant, picnic areas, a campground, trailer sites, and comfort stations.
Hours of Operation
Open year-round, with facilities open May through October.
Hours of operation are subject to change. Contact directly for most current information.
Admission Fees
None.
Location
Doughton Park is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway between mileposts 238.5 and 244.7.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Doughton Park
Bluffs Lodge & Restaurant
Milepost 241
(336) 372-4499
Also Nearby
- Horn in the West
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4 miles
Horn in the West, the nation's oldest Revolutionary War drama, is performed in a beautiful outdoor theater in Boone, NC.
- Hickory Ridge Homestead
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4 miles
Hickory Ridge Homestead is a living history museum on the grounds of Horn in the West, a Revolutionary War drama in Boone, NC.
- Grandfather Mountain
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Grandfather Mountain, near Linville, NC, is famous for its "Mile High Swinging Bridge," panoramic vistas, wildlife, and hiking.
