ROUGH RIDGE TUNNEL ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY IN NORTH CAROLINA

Rough Ridge Tunnel
Early photo
Milepost 349 on the BRP

Rough Ridge Tunnel
Milepost 349 on the BRP
source: commons

The Rough Ridge Tunnel can be found at milepost 349. It’s a fairly short tunnel at 150′, with heights reaching from 13’9 to 21’6″
There is nothing directly near this milepost, but just a few short moments away you have the Buck Creek Gap and NC 80 Crossover, where you are only 16 miles to the north for Burnsville, and 16 miles to the south for Marion
Up a little further is milepost 355.4: lots to see and do here: Mount Mitchell State Park, with an observation tower, tent camping, picnic areas, a Natural History Museum, and a restaurant that is open from May to October.
I personally have visited this restaurant, and the food is good, and you can also pick up a few small gift type items here.
Attached are two photos..although the older one was not dated, I wanted to show the differences between then and now. The Rough Ridge Tunnel was excavated in 1936.

TWIN TUNNELS ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY IN NORTH CAROLINA

These particular tunnels are referred to as the Twin Tunnels, as they are located so close to each other.   One is south, and one is north:
Twin Tunnel North is located at milepost 344.5, and is a 300′ stretch..with a heights ranging from 16′ to 21′
Twin Tunnel South is located at milepost 344.7, is a whopping 401′, and has heights ranging from 14’7″ to 19’7″
The above video gives you an idea of just how close these two are.