ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – “We appreciate everyone’s patience and are thrilled,” said Mike Litterst, spokesman for the National Park Service.

On Friday, it was announced that all 198 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia were open and ready for visitors.

Parkway officials say they are excited to welcome people back to national parks.

“Any time we have to close, especially over a longer period of time, is problematic for us,” explained Litterst.

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Helene swept through the area and made roads unsafe.

Even though Virginia has reopened, officials say the North Carolina portion of the parkway is still closed and causing extensive damage.

“We are dealing with a number of locations where the road is completely destroyed or water has compromised the integrity of the road. “We are worried about what will happen when the next rain comes,” Litterst explained.

Litterst says they are now happy to take the first steps toward reopening part of the park.

Places like Explore Park say the timing is perfect as we approach peak leaf season.

“In the months of September, October and November we see between 45,000 and 50,000 people,” said Alex North, marketing and management coordinator for Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

North expressed his excitement about visitors being able to access via the park path rather than using an alternate route to get there.

“After about a week, two weeks of closure, we haven’t hit those numbers on the Parkway, but that’s OK because now that it’s open, we’re still going to see some of those visitors, but also a lot of the locals and people.” said North.

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