You are here

Home » Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Fall Color Without the Crowds at the Great Smoky Mountains or the Blue Ridge Parkway?

Both Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway are justly famous for their fall color—and a flood of mid-October visitors. Can you avoid the heavy traffic and still enjoy some autumn foliage by timing your visit a bit earlier? Here's a Traveler trip report.

Fall Spectacular: What's That Sound? Where To Listen To -- And Look For -- Wildlife In The National Parks

In the fall, animals and birds prepare for winter. Bears eat constantly to fatten up before they slow down. Many birds are already on their migration path. Elk and other ungulates are preparing for the mating ritual, the rut. Take a look -- or stop and listen -- in many national parks this fall and you'll catch a glimpse of this autumnal spectacular.

Fall Spectacular: Fall Colors From a National Park Lodge

A disadvantage of living in South Georgia is the scarcity of fall colors as the days grow cooler and the nights become longer. The glorious reds, bright yellows, and vivid oranges produced by oaks, maples, cottonwoods, sumac, and other broadleaved trees and shrubs are in short supply where we live. Having both grown up in the Midwest, we miss the changing of the colors during the fall seasons.

Blue Ridge Parkway Seeks Public Comment On Planned Bridge Repairs

Some serious roadwork likely is in the future of the Blue Ridge Parkway, as National Park Service officials are evaluating the repair needs of four bridges that date to the original construction of the scenic parkway that winds from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina

What Might The National Park Service's Maintenance Priority List Look Like?

As Congress works in the coming months to reach accord on legislation that would provide billions of dollars to address the National Park System's nearly $12 billion in maintenance work that's been put off for a year or longer, the backlog continues to inch higher and higher. If a funding mechanism is passed, then the National Park Service will have to craft a national priority list of projects that need to be tackled. While that list doesn't exist yet, here's a look at some possible top priorities.

Virginia Man Fined, Sent To Prison For Vandalism At Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway

A Virginia man who used spray paint, paint balls, and marbles to vandalize signs, structures, equipment and vehicles in Shenandoah National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway has been sent to prison for 11 months and ordered to pay nearly $15,500 in restitution.

Traveler Special Report: Some Friends Groups Asked To Provide "Margin Of Survival"

For eight years, families whose memories of the Blue Ridge Parkway were nurtured around summer evenings chasing fireflies on the rolling highland meadows below Bluffs Lodge at Milepost 241 have wondered when it might reopen. But a question that might better be asked of the charming 24-room lodge that opened in 1949 is whether it ever will be able to reopen or instead be razed.

INN Member

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

FREE for iPhones and Android phones.