Alligator Back Overlook

Alligator Back Overlook sits at 3,373 feet on the Blue Ridge Parkway, facing south across terrain that drops 445 feet within 600 meters of the pullout. The view opens toward Basin Cove Overlook to the south-southwest at 2.1 miles and 3,315 feet, with a line of lower peaks extending south and southeast: Flat Rock Knob (2,945 ft, 2.5 mi), Bell Knob (2,398 ft, 2.8 mi), Bell Mountain (2,318 ft, 4.5 mi), Trealy Mountain (2,284 ft, 4.9 mi), and Handy Mountain (1,917 ft, 6.1 mi). Boone lies 30.8 miles west-southwest, Mount Airy 32.8 miles east, and Lenoir 40.1 miles south-southwest. On the June solstice, sunrise is at 06:08 and sunset at 20:47; at the equinoxes, sunrise falls near 07:13-07:29 with sunset around 19:23-19:37; the December solstice brings sunrise at 07:33 and sunset at 17:14. Basin Cove Overlook is the previous stop along the byway, with Wildcat Rock Overlook next.