Blue Ridge Parkway / Skyline Drive

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles from Front Royal, Virginia to Cherokee, North Carolina, and the northernmost 105 miles from Front Royal to Waynesboro is called Skyline Drive.

Here is a series of links about the parkway and the Shenandoah National Park:

Shenandoah National Park, by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Quote (in blue text):
Shenandoah National Park lies astride a beautiful section of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which form the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains between Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Shenandoah River flows through the valley to the west, with Massanutten Mountain, 40 miles long, standing between the river's north and south forks. The rolling Piedmont country lies to the east of the park. Skyline Drive, a 105-mile road that winds along the crest of the mountains through the length of the park, provides vistas of the spectacular landscape to east and west. The park holds more than 500 miles of trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Blue Ridge Parkway, by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Quote (in blue text):
Designed as a drive awhile - stop awhile recreational drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway provides both stunning scenery and close-up looks at the natural and cultural history of the southern Appalachian mountains. The Parkway meanders for 469 miles and connects Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, providing ample opportunities for stops at overlooks, picnic and camping facilities, trails, and wonderful cultural and natural areas.

Postcard tour of Blue Ridge Parkway, by National Park Service

FHWA By Day - August 29: August 29, 1939 - Quote (in blue text):
Construction of the 105-mile Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park is completed. Bids on the first Skyline Drive contract (19.97 miles from Thornton's Gap to Big Meadows, VA) had been opened on June 25, 1931. Albert Brothers Contractors, Inc., of Salem, VA, was awarded the contract on June 26. Work on the first section began on July 22 and was completed on schedule on September 8, 1932. By the time of its 50th anniversary in 1989, Skyline Drive had attracted more than 90 million visitors. As part of Shenandoah National Park, the drive serves a dual purpose. During the 50th anniversary, Chuck Anibel of the NPS explained, "It is a recreational experience in and of itself for the views and overlooks, as well as serving as an access road to the rest of the recreational facilities in the national park."

Shenandoah National Park, by ARAMARK, who holds the concessionaire to operate Skyline Drive and its food and lodging facilities

Shenandoah National Park -- Lodging and Dining, by American Park Network

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Parkway - official publication of the Blue Ridge Parkway Association, Inc., Asheville, NC

Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive -- Insiders' Guide to Virginia's Blue Ridge, 7th Edition

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, by John Cletheroe

Blue Ridge Skyline Parkway Drive

Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, by Jurgen Brauer

Skyline Drive; Camping & Campgrounds, Shenandoah National Park
There are five campgrounds on Skyline Drive; Matthews Arm (on the northern end, at mile marker 22.1), Big Meadows (mile 51.3), Lewis Mountain (mile 57.5), Loft Mountain (mile 79.5), and Dundo Campground (mile 83.7).

NCNatural's Ultimate Blue Ridge Parkway Guide , by NCNatural

Peaks of Otter, Bedford Virginia, on the Blue Ridge Parkway

You can run Google searches on search arguments such as "Blue Ridge Parkway", "Skyline Drive", " Shenandoah National Park", "Peaks of Otter", "Mabry Mill", and other associated terms, and find many more links to websites about this highway and its associated facilities and nearby historical and recreational sites.

Copyright © 2000-2004 by Scott Kozel. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse, or distribution without permission is prohibited.

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By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future

(Created 4-8-2000, updated 1-1-2004)