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 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 book is an overview of the Blue Ridge Parkway's first fifty years, with photographs by William Bake. Noted Blue Ridge Parkway Historian, Harley E. Jolley, wrote the descriptions and text.

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.

For fifteen years Sue Eisenfeld hiked in Shenandoah National Park in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, unaware of the tragic history behind the creation of the park. In this travel narrative, she tells the story of her on-the-ground discovery of the relics and memories a few thousand mountain residents left behind when the government used eminent domain to kick the people off their land to create the park. With historic maps and notes from hikers who explored before her, Eisenfeld and her husband hike, backpack, and bushwhack the hills and the hollows of this beloved but misbegotten place, searching for stories. Descendants recount memories of their ancestors “grieving themselves to death,” and they continue to speak of their people’s displacement from the land as an untold national tragedy. Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal is Eisenfeld’s personal journey into the park’s hidden past based on her off-trail explorations. She describes the turmoil of residents’ removal as well as the human face of the government officials behind the formation of the park. In this conflict between conservation for the benefit of a nation and private land ownership, she explores her own complicated personal relationship with the park—a relationship she would not have without the heartbreak of the thousands of people removed from their homes. Purchase the audio edition.

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.

Suggests locales for finding specimens of the over 300 species of birds residing in this region.

There is no ribbon of highway more ideal for cycling than the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway - they both entice the senses and physically challenge the body. The new edition of Bicycling the Blue Ridge continues as the definitive guide to this cyclist's dream road, offering completely updated information on lodging, bike shops, campgrounds, road crossings, points of interest, bed and breakfasts, panoramic views, groceries, and more. Written with racers, touring cyclists, and recreational cyclists in mind, this milepost-by-milepost guide covers every inch of the 574-mile path between Front Royal, Virginia, and Cherokee, North Carolina.