This comprehensive guidebook provides a detailed description of every official trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. But that's just the beginning: veteran hiker Leonard M. Adkins includes information on every trail that touches the Parkway, including the Appalachian Trail, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and other public pathways on national park, state park, national forest, municipal, and private lands. You'll find GPS coordinates for official Parkway trailheads, along with fifty maps and many photographs of what you'll see along the way. Adkins notes each trail's length, difficulty, points of interest, handicap accessibility, and natural features. Far more than a guide to the trails, this book also tells you what to expect at overlooks, as well as where to dine, sleep, and find a restroom, and suggests worthwhile side trips. Elevation change charts for bicyclists, minimum tunnel heights for RVs, camping recommendations, roadside bloom calendars, sightseeing information for nearby towns, and other advice make this the perfect companion for your next Parkway adventure.

Filled with detailed information on the best hikes, scenic stops, waterfalls, and historic locations, this is the ultimate guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia, one of America's most visited national parks. Information on lodging, way stations, side trips, hiking trails, and attractions of interest is included--ideal for the time-pressed traveler who wants to hit the high points of the park. Full-color photographs, photographer's notes, and photo tips complement the detailed descriptions of the park's attractions, making this handbook both a travel guide and a compilation to treasure.

One of the premier tourist attractions of the eastern United States, the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina. This volume relates the author's one-of-a-kind backpacking trip along the 469-mile road, along with his observations and recollections regarding the Parkway, the most visited unit of the National Park Service. Beginning with his experience as a summer college intern, the book also covers the twelve years he spent working as a ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Anecdotal history and accounts from some of the Parkway's earliest rangers complete this tale of one of our country's national treasures. The appendix contains a chronological, mile-by-mile re-creation of Pegram's 2003 trek, including the names of all the Parkway landmarks mentioned in the book.

The Blue Ridge Parkway began as a dream in the late 1800s and became reality in 1983 when the 469-mile scenic highway was completed. Heavy construction was done by contractors who won bids for the different projects along various sections of the parkway. Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway began in September 1935 at Cumberland Knob. Civilian Conservation Corps troops took care of the roadsides, landscaping, and structure building. As part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, this project was intended to provide jobs throughout the region. Images of America: Building the Blue Ridge Parkway contains approximately 200 construction photographs of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Second edition of Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas book

The mountains of western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina are a hikers paradise--rich with human history and home to some of the greatest biological diversity in the world. This guide includes 57 day hikes ranging in length from 2 to 13 miles, with destinations including the waterfalls of DuPont State forest; the Blue Ridge Parkway's beautiful Craggy Gardens; the ruins of George Vanderbilt's palatial Buck Spring hunting lodge on Mt. Pisgah; the summit of Cold Mountain, and more. Each entry covers everything you need to know to enjoy your hike: maps and detailed directions, mileage, elevation gain, trail highlights, fees and hiking regulations, films and novels set in each location, and more.

This comprehensive guidebook provides a detailed description of every official National Park Service trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. But that's just the beginning: veteran hiker Leonard M. Adkins includes information on every trail that touches the parkway, including the Appalachian Trail and other public pathways on national park, state park, national forest, municipal, and private lands, along with citations for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Far more than a guide to the trails, this book will help you plan your whole trip. It's the perfect companion for your next parkway adventure. Includes: - every public trail along the parkway - GPS coordinates and 72 maps - 255 total trails, including 12 new trails since the last edition - trail length and difficulty - points of interest - wheelchair accessibility - a short history of the parkway and region - campgrounds and lodges - public restroom locations - elevation change charts for cyclists - tunnel heights for RVs - wildflower bloom calendar - selected sightseeing information on nearby towns