Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History

The most visited site in the National Park system, the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway winds along the ridges of the Appalachian mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. According to most accounts, the Parkway was a New Deal "Godsend for the needy," built without conflict or opposition by landscape architects and planners who traced their vision along a scenic, isolated southern landscape. The historical archives relating to this massive public project, however, tell a different and much more complicated story, which Anne Mitchell Whisnant relates in this revealing history of the beloved roadway.

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.

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.

"The book explores the clash between prioritizing safety over scenery in the early development of automobile roadways in the United States and Germany"--

Describes the scenery, history, and points of interest along three hundred scenic routes across the United States

John Muir is considered to be the supreme icon of western wilderness and preservation. His counterpart in the east is Harlan P. Kelsey, an often obscure and forgotten figure. In Beautiful Land of the Sky, author Loren M. Wood chronicles Kelseys journey from the humblest of beginnings to national prominence in horticulture and the establishment of national parks in the eastern United States. In this biography, Wood tells how, a century ago, Kelsey was the first to pioneer native plants for the American landscape and a leader in that process; how he was a leading participant in bringing all of America to our native plants in their finest original setting; and how he helped make a reality of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a zenith of horticultural biomass and diversity in America. In addition, this biography explores the parallels in the odysseys of Muir and Kelsey. Though primarily a biography of Kelsey, Wood compares the similarities, differences, and accomplishments of the two men. Including details gathered from more than fifty thousand items in Kelseys personal files, Beautiful Land of the Sky narrates the inspiring and entertaining story of how the idea of national parks was implemented east of the Mississippi.