If the Great
Smoky Mountains are the "Crown Jewels" of the Blue
Ridge Province, the Blue Ridge Parkway is the "Royal Scepter."
Spanning 470 miles and traveling northeast through
two states, the Blue Ridge Parkway is by far the most unique
American parkway ever created. Born out hard times during the
Great Depression of the 1930's and the need for putting people
to work to create American parklands, this engineering marvel
of roadway traverses the very backbone and rooftops of the southeastern
The Blue Ridge Parkway connects the Shenandoah
National Park in Virginia to the Pisgah
National Forest in North Carolina. At its farthest northern
point is the town of Front Royal in Virginia, a true historic
American settle with pristine homes dating back to the late 1700's.
In contrast, at its furthest most southern point is the stronghold
of a town called Cherokee, located within the Native American
Boundary of the Cherokee people. This area was the hideaway for
the Cherokee during the evacuation of the Cherokee tribes in
the 1830's or more commonly known as the infamous "Trail
of Tears," which took so many lives all for the sake of
greed and an expanding nation.
The Blue Ridge Parkway travels through the very
heart of the Blue
Ridge Province, skirting along the mountain ridges, crossing
numerous mountain gaps, steering through exciting tunnels bored
out of sheer rock and descending into deep valley's occasionally
brushing against picturesque mountain cities such as Asheville
North Carolina and Roanoke Virginia.
There is so much to tell about the Blue Ridge
Parkway, its many natural wonders, constant array of spectacular
vistas and cultural mountain communities along its slopes, coves
and valleys that this profile is a mere scratch of the surface.
The Blue Ridge Highlander has been gathering photos and information
that will be presented in numerous stories and tales along the
Blue Ridge Parkway, with each new tale as fascinating as the
Brief History of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway began
on September 11, 1935 and completed in 1983 and 470 miles latter
after several routing delays and World War II. The "New
Deal" created during President Franklin Roosevelt of the
1930's was to provide much need work for both skilled and unskilled
labor including engineers and landscape architects, thus the "Civilian
Conservation Corps" was called into order. The idea was
to create a link between the newly created Shenandoah National
Park in Virginia to the very edge of the Great
Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. The
appointed landscape architect who had the job of laying out the
parkway was Stanley Abbot. His vision cut through a wilderness
that must have seemed uncertain if not impossible at times.
The parkway and its shoulders are as clean and
pristine as any golf course and the views never end. At high
altitudes the mysteries of nature and wildlife are captivating.
You think you came for the views but its the wonders that drag
you from your vehicle as you cut out along a roadside trial on
a personal quest and union with nature at an altitude that makes
what seems natural becomes unnatural in its mysteries.
The monumental task that created the Blue Ridge
Parkway is a treasure to both America and the world and must
be experience at least once in a lifetime, yet there is so much
to do and see and do along and around the vicinity of the parkway
and its many mountain ranges it would take numerous trips to
truly appreciate the wonders of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Scenic Drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway...
Blue Ridge Parkway from Cherokee NC to Asheville NC
Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Season
Blue Ridge Parkway Poem and Scenic Drive
75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway