From Charlotte & Hickory:
- Take US 321 North through Blowing Rock into Boone
- Go to intersection of US 321 and NC 105 Extension (Wendy’s on corner on left)
- Turn right at light onto NC 105 Extension (also US 221)
- Follow 105 Extension to the second traffic light (T-intersection)
- Turn right at the light onto US 421 (also US 221)
- Travel approx. 3.5 miles to Old US 421 (Food Lion on left)
- Turn right at the traffic light onto Old US 421
- Go 1.7 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway stone bridge on the right
- Turn right under the stone bridge onto Elk Creek Road
- Go 6 miles on Elk Creek Road to the Powder Horn Mountain guardhouse on the right
- Turn right on Powder Horn Mountain Road and check in at the guardhouse
- Go one mile up Powder Horn Mountain Road to the Brightwood entrance (Brightwood II sign on right)
From Winston-Salem/Greensboro/Statesville:
- Take US 421 North through Wilkesboro
- Go to the intersection of US 221 and 421 (traffic light)
- Go straight ahead through the traffic light approximately 1/4 mile
- Turn left onto Old US 421
- Follow Old US 421 for approx. 4 miles past Parkway School (on right) and down a hill
- At the bottom of hill, turn left onto Elk Creek Road under the Blue Ridge Parkway stone bridge
- Follow Elk Creek Road 6 miles to the Powder Horn guardhouse on the right
- Turn right on Powder Horn Mountain Road and check in at the guardhouse
- Go one mile up Powder Horn Mountain Road to the Brightwood entrance (Brightwood II sign on right)
From Johnson City/Elizabethton/Mountain City:
- Go on US 321/421 South through Boone (King St.) to NC 105 (traffic light)
- Keep going straight on US 421 (also US 221) approx. 3.5 miles to Old US 421 (Food Lion on left)
- Turn right at the traffic light onto Old US 421
- Go 1.7 miles to the Blue Ridge Parkway stone bridge on the right
- Turn right under the stone bridge onto Elk Creek Road
- Go 6 miles on Elk Creek Road to the Powder Horn Mountain guardhouse on the right
- Turn right on Powder Horn Mountain Road and check in at the guardhouse
- Go one mile up Powder Horn Mountain Road to the Brightwood entrance (Brightwood II sign on right)