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Blue Ridge Parkway

Off Season: A Great Time to Visit a National Park—Peter Greenberg Interviews Traveler's Travel Editor

Submitted by Randy Johnson on March 30, 2012 - 1:25am
As the Traveler's travel editor, I do my best to be in the right place at the right time. Recently, award-winning travel journalist Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News, interviewed me to hear why off season is often a great time to visit a national park, especially if solitude is what you're looking for.

Blue Ridge Parkway CEO Honored By White House For Getting Kids Outdoors

Submitted by NPT Staff on March 29, 2012 - 12:54pm
Carolyn Ward, chief executive officer of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, has been honored by the White House for her organization's efforts to get kids outdoors.

Blue Ridge Parkway Sets Opening Schedule

Submitted by Randy Johnson on March 27, 2012 - 1:49am
Blue Ridge Parkway Sets Opening Schedule

Appalachian Spring: The Video

Submitted by Randy Johnson on March 23, 2012 - 1:48am
The Blue Ridge Parkway, between Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks, is a prime venue to a secret season—the explosive beauty and bounty of Appalachian Spring.

Discriminating Explorer: Appalachian Spring

Submitted by Randy Johnson on March 21, 2012 - 1:55am
The Blue Ridge Parkway, between Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks, is a prime venue to a secret season—the explosive beauty and bounty of Appalachian Spring.

Pull Up a Tent: Camp on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Submitted by Randy Johnson on March 14, 2012 - 2:35am
There's great camping all along the 469-miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting with the Parkway's own campgrounds.

As Time Nears To Hit The Appalachian Trail, Some Stats For Thru-Hikers To Keep in Mind

Submitted by NPT Staff on March 11, 2012 - 2:08am
With an eye on the prize, this year's crop of would-be Appalachian Trail thru-hikers are getting ready to hit the trail. With that in mind, here are some stats, courtesy of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, to help them stay focused.

Ranking The National Parks By Visitation In 2011

Submitted by NPT Staff on March 8, 2012 - 2:44am
People seem to like numbers, and hierarchy, so here's a rundown of the leading units of the National Park System in terms of 2011 visitation. The first list combs through all 397 units in the system, while the second looks only at "national parks."

Walking to Rattlesnake Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on March 6, 2012 - 2:34am
At the time when most of the Blue Ridge Parkway seems closed in North Carolina, you can take a delightful, short hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail to Rattlesnake Lodge. You'll see the many remains of the summer home of Chase Ambler.

Winter Closure to Interrupt Two Portions of Blue Ridge Parkway

Submitted by NPT Staff on February 13, 2012 - 2:33am
Repairs to two Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels will interdict the high road from mid-February through mid-April between Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

TRACK Trails Offer Nationwide Weapon Against “Nature Deficit Disorder”

Submitted by Randy Johnson on January 30, 2012 - 2:40am
A new grant appears likely to popularize outdoor education and exercise for families with national franchising of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's TRACK Trails concept.

Blue Ridge Parkway Digital History Now Online

Submitted by Randy Johnson on January 27, 2012 - 2:03am
A new Web site rounds up remarkable visual resources about the history of the most popular unit of America's National Park System.

We've Added The Blue Ridge Parkway To Our Collection of Essential Park Guides

Submitted by Randy Johnson on January 26, 2012 - 2:48am
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a globally recognized icon of the American landscape. Stretches of road elsewhere in the United States may indeed be spectacular, but nothing matches this manicured, uniquely uncommercialized, half a thousand mile thoroughfare through the lofty heart of America’s first frontier.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Moses Cone Park, Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Photo by Randy Johnson

Featured Photographer

Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson is Travel Editor for the Traveler and the author and photographer for this guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Randy has motored the road countless times and hiked many miles carrying his camera on Parkway paths and roadsides. He lives a mile from the Parkway near Boone, NC.

He's the author of bestselling Parkway trail guides Hiking the the Blue Ridge Parkway and Best Easy Day Hikes Blue Ridge Parkway.


The Blue Ridge Parkway is a globally recognized icon of the American landscape.

Stretches of road elsewhere in the United States may indeed be spectacular, but nothing matches this manicured, uniquely uncommercialized, half a thousand mile thoroughfare through the lofty heart of America’s first frontier.

Trails We Hiked During 2011

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 28, 2011 - 2:57am
We managed to get out on some national park trails during 2011 -- not as many as we'd like, but still a few that brought smiles to our faces. Here's a look back at those trails.

Winter: A “Secret Season” in the South’s Loftiest National Parks

Submitted by Randy Johnson on December 28, 2011 - 2:25am
When the snow closure signs go up on portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, and the Great Smoky Mountains, cross country skiers and snowshoers are often seen striding and stomping into a winter wonderland.

NPS to Package Three Lodges on the Blue Ridge Parkway Under One Concessions Contract

Submitted by David and Kay Scott on December 17, 2011 - 2:41am
The National Park Service recently announced that it would package the Blue Ridge Parkway concessions operation for lodging, retail, and food and beverage visitor services for Peaks of Otter Lodge, Bluffs Lodge, and Rocky Knob Cabins under a single prospectus expected to be released in April 2012.

Grant Will Rehabilitate Boone Fork Trail Portion of Mountains-to-Sea Trail on Blue Ridge Parkway

Submitted by NPT Staff on December 5, 2011 - 2:03am
A $75,000 grant from the North Carolina Recreation Trails Program will fund rehabilitation and improvement of one the most popular trails in Julian Price Memorial Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Fears Rise That Congress Could Open More Units Of National Park System to Hunting

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 21, 2011 - 2:30am
Few units of the National Park System are open to hunting, but there are fears that legislation now working its way through Congress could clear the way for hunting across dozens of parks in the system.

License Tag Law Threatens Support for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on November 16, 2011 - 2:41am
License tag money has helped support national parks in North Carolina for over a decade. But a new law enacted by the Republican legislature will decrease the amount of money that will go to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Blue Ridge Parkway Management Alternatives Draw More Than A Little Debate

Submitted by Randy Johnson on November 14, 2011 - 2:56am
The first-ever management plan for the Blue Ridge Parkway treads a fine line between two forces park managers have juggled for the 76-year history of the high road—the economic development aspirations of adjacent communities and the need to ensure the integrity of a “national park” that’s 469-miles long and a half-mile wide.

NPCA Report Paints Somber Portrait Of An Underfunded National Park Service

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on November 10, 2011 - 2:23pm
America is abundantly rich in the "natural assets" found within the National Park System, but inadequate funding by Congress is threatening the core health of that system, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

Four Men Given Jail Time For Digging Up Gingseng In Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Submitted by NPT Staff on November 8, 2011 - 1:54am
Jail terms ranging from 15 days to 120 days were handed to four men convicted of digging ginseng in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Stretches Of Blue Ridge Parkway To Be Closed For Months For Work on Historic Guardrails

Submitted by NPT Staff on November 2, 2011 - 1:44am
Planning to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the months to come? Be sure to bring your roadmap, as construction work along three stretches in North Carolina will impede your progress.

Joshua Tree National Park Abandons General Management Plan Revision, Blue Ridge Parkway Proceeding With Its GMP

Submitted by NPT Staff on November 1, 2011 - 1:37am
While Joshua Tree National Park officials have abandoned efforts to revise their long-range General Management Plan, preferring instead to focus on specific issues, Blue Ridge Parkway officials are moving ahead with their own GMP.

Backroads and Byways – Balsam Mountain Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 16, 2011 - 12:47am
If you're looking for an alternative to the more heavily-traveled roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, here's a great option for the fall color season, or for a late spring or summer drive next year: the Balsam Mountain Road.

Colors Peaking In The National Parks Across The Country

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on October 11, 2011 - 1:03am
With mid-October practically here, the fall colors are really starting to put on their best in many national parks, places like Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, and Acadia.
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