Due to the 5% decrease in the Park Service’s budget this year, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Crabtree Falls campground near Spruce Pine & Little Switzerland, NC will remain closed throughout the 2013 season. This is in addition to several other closures along the road, and the cancellation of all of the Park’s normal seasonal interpretive programs. The Balsam Mountain campground, as well as Balsam Mountain Road and Heintooga Road near the Great Smoky Mountains, will also remain closed this year.
Visitors can still access the Crabtree Falls trail by parking at the visitor center parking area, and hiking up the road to the trailhead. You can find more information on the Blue Ridge Parkway’s official web site.
Edit: please note that this does not affect Crabtree Falls Campground in Virginia, which is privately owned and still open.
Edit Summer 2014: not only does the campground remain closed this season, but all information about it has been removed from the Parkway’s camping page, and it’s not even mentioned on the 2104 operating schedule announcement. On last year’s announcement (link in original post), the campground remained listed but marked “closed”. We’ve not heard this officially, but does this mean a permanent closure for this once popular recreation area?