ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The entire Blue Ridge Parkway has reopened after the heavy rains of Hurricane Irma forced the closure of some parts of the road.
The National Park Service said the last of the road debris from the storm was cleared away Thursday at Craggy Gardens near Asheville. Parts of the road were closed because the storm made traffic unsafe in some places.
The 469 miles of the parkway was open for travel Friday, the first day of fall.
Mount Mitchell State Park is also open. Mount Mitchell is the highest peak in the eastern United States, at 6,684 feet (2037 meters).
October is the busiest month for the parkway. Last year, 2 million people visited to see the fall colors spread across the mountains of western North Carolina and Virginia.
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