Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway's 469 mile scenic roadway meanders through Appalachia connecting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina with the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Work on the parkway began in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and continued until 1968 when all but the stretch around Grandfather Mountain in NC was completed. It was not until the completion of the Linn Cove Viaduct in 1987 that the entire parkway was officially dedicated, fifty two years after construction had begun. Click here and here to read more about the parkway's history.

Above: Rosebay rhododendron in bloom along the parkway (taken last weekend).