While snow is fairly uncommon in the valleys, Newfound Gap receives an average of more than five feet a year. Under normal weather and traffic conditions, it should take about an hour to cross the park on U.S. 441 if you don't make any stops, but during the peak visitor season from May until October or in bad weather, it can take much longer. There are other spur roads, some of them unpaved and some of which are closed in winter, that lead to special areas of interest or campgrounds in the park. Check on the conditions of these roads, however, before attempting them. A flash floods or mudslide sometimes makes one impassible.
Most park roads are open to bicycles.
No off-road vehicles of any kind are allowed anywhere in the park. The park's vast area is crisscrossed by over 850 miles of hiking trails, over half of which are in North Carolina. Many of these trails were converted from old logging railroad grades or old logging roads. There are 51 official hiking trails and 11 self-guiding nature trails. You can pick up a leaflet about each nature trail as you enter it.