Information about Julian Price Memorial Park
Julian Price Memorial Park
Julian Price Memorial Park is located at mile post 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC.
There are numerous trails in the park, a picnic area, and the largest campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The campground does not have electric or water hookups.
Simm's Pond
Rhododendron reflected in Simm's Pond.
Wild Flowers at Simm's Pond
Simm's pond, at milepost 294, is the first stop in Julian Price Memorial Park. When we were there, the rhododendron blooms were in decline, but there were still a few plants in bloom. The pond would be beautiful when they were in full bloom. There are other flowers in bloom. But they were not as showy as the rhododendron.
Flowers along the fence at Simm's Pond
Price Lake
Price Lake
The centerpiece of the park is the 47 acre Price Lake. In 2009 we visited the Julian Price Park twice, once to hike around the lake and Paddling Price lake. The hike around the lake is an easy 3 mile loop that follows the shoreline. Because it had rained the morning of our visit, the trail was muddy in spots. This required several detours and made some interesting area off limits.
Rhododendron
Rhododendron
We did find a few rhododendron that still had flowers. But not many.
We also found a beaver dam. The beaver pond flooded part of the trail and caused us to make a large detour.
Beaver dam