Blue Ridge Parkway: Fryingpan Mountain Lookout Tower

When my parents and I first came here last December, we thought we were breaking the law- the gravel road that leads to the tower is marred with "No Trespassing" signs on either side. But after doing some research, I discovered that the lookout tower that sits atop Fryingpan Mountain (elevation 5,340) on the Blue Ridge Parkway is in fact open to the public, and hikers are encouraged to use it.

The tower... of doom!!!

Fun fact: The tower was originally built by the US Forest Service in 1941, and is the tallest lookout tower in Western NC. Although the top platform is locked and not open to the public (I wonder why?), you can still climb five flights of stairs to catch some amazing views.

View from the top of the lookout tower

We stumbled upon this tower on a winter day when the parkway was closed. After parking at the lot beside the parkway's intersection with Hwy 276, we walked about 3 miles east and saw the gravel road to the lookout tower on the left. From the parkway, it's about 3/4 of a mile hike up to the tower. There are some camping spots near the entrance to the trail that might be worth checking out. This is near mile marker 409, and I'm sure you could park somewhere closer than we did (when the parkway is open, that is). I would highly recommend checking this spot out- the 360 degree panoramic views are incredible.