Randy Johnson


Biography

Randy Johnson is the author of a handful of books including the bestselling Falcon Guides Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway, Best Easy Day Hikes Blue Ridge Parkway, Hiking North Carolina and Southern Snow: The Winter Guide to Dixie. Visit Randy at www.randyjohnsonbooks.com. In the late ‘70s, Randy proposed and implemented an innovative trail fee-based backcountry management program that preserved hiker access to privately-owned Grandfather Mountain in NC (www.grandfather.com). The program has been credited with influencing the recent trend to recreation user fees by demonstrating public support for fees that directly fund facilities. The program helped Grandfather Mountain become the world’s only privately-owned, United Nations- designated Biosphere Reserve. During the completion of the final "missing link" of the Blue Ridge Parkway around Grandfather Mountain, Randy helped mesh the mountain’s private trails and Park Service paths into the spectacular hiking network in place today. Randy has written widely on travel and the environment. He is currently editor of Hemispheres, the inflight magazine of United Airlines, named “World’s Best Airline Magazine” in 2006 (www.hemispheresmagazine.com).



Randy's Most Recent Articles (view all)
When President Roosevelt lent his support to creation of the Blue Ridge Parkway—75 years ago in 2010—he envisioned the half-a-thousand mile ridge-top route between Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains as the East’s premier national park experience.