 The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the crest for most of the way between Asheville and Mount Mitchell.Craggy Gardens, an area of 16 km, is covered with purple Catawba rhododendrons in mid-June.The parkway through the area was closed from late 2012 through early 2013 due to subsidence caused by heavy rains, and had to be closed again during summer 2013 due to a reoccurrence of the same issues.