Mountain Industry Trail & Mabry Mill - BRP 176.2

Blue Ridge Parkway Hikes - Mountain Industry Hiking Trail

Review of Mountain Industry Trail & Mabry Mill

.4 mile, round-trip **Easy

Mabry Mill is one of the most photographed features on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In fact its appeal is so great, you may find pictures of Mabry Mill on postcards representing the rural life of other states besides Virginia. This is one trail where you will want to take your camera instead of your canteen.

The Mountain Industry Trail is an easy educational walk of less than a half of a mile. During your hike you will find buildings, farm implements, a whiskey still, and other displays which illustrate what rural life was like in the Appalachia and other rural areas of the eastern United States.

You may even be lucky enough to see live demonstrations of mountain crafts such as gristmilling, spinning, blacksmithing which were a part of the early 1900's. Also from the displays, you'll learn the recipes for homemade soap, moonshine, and why it was necessary for miller Edwin B. Mabry, the owner of Mabry Mill, to build flumes like the one in the picture on the left.

Also as you walk by the pond, be on the lookout for turtles, ducks, and other wildlife. The Mabry Mill Trail is one of the more popular trails on the Blue Ridge parkway. During the fall and on weekends, you are likely to find the parking lots full.

The map on the right shows the location of the paved trail in gray. The Blue Ridge Parkway is shown in black and the gravel road which leads to overflow parking to the rear of Mabry Mill is shown in red. You can get a larger image of the guide on the right by double clicking.

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