Blue Ridge Parkway

The words

1. Bluegrass

   Bluegrass shares the region’s musical landscape with old-time string bands and ballad singing. The Parkway’s Blue Ridge Music Center presents this heritage through exhibits and performances.

   Park Service: Blue Ridge music (opens a new tab)

2. Craggy Gardens

   At Craggy Gardens, rhododendron thickets and gnarled trees reflect the conditions of the high mountains. Shrub-covered areas called heath balds shape the landscape along its trails.

   Park Service: Craggy Gardens habitat (opens a new tab)

3. Doughton Park

   At Doughton Park, ridgetop meadows and steep mountainsides surround Brinegar Cabin. The cabin interprets mountain families who lived off the land and sold homemade goods for cash.

   Did you know?

   In 1949, the Bluffs Restaurant became the Parkway’s first dining establishment, according to the Park Service.

   Park Service: Doughton Park (opens a new tab)

4. Folk Art Center

   The center showcases traditional and contemporary Southern Appalachian crafts. Its galleries, library and Allanstand Craft Shop connect the Parkway’s landscapes with the region’s makers.

   Did you know?

   The Southern Highland Craft Guild was founded in 1930, during the Great Depression, to unite local artisans and help them sell their work.

   Park Service: Appalachian crafts (opens a new tab)

5. Humpback Rocks

   Humpback Rocks combines a mountain outcrop with an outdoor farm museum. Its historic buildings were gathered from nearby locations to portray Appalachian farm life in the 1890s.

   Park Service: Humpback Rocks farm (opens a new tab)

6. Linn Cove

   Linn Cove is the boulder-strewn setting on Grandfather Mountain around which the Parkway’s concrete bridge curves. Its sweeping S-shaped route helped avoid extensive cutting and filling on the slope.

   Did you know?

   Of the viaduct’s 153 concrete segments, only the southernmost is straight; the others form the sweeping curve around Grandfather Mountain.

   Park Service: Linn Cove engineering (opens a new tab)

7. Linville Falls

   The Linville River begins high on Grandfather Mountain and drops through the falls into a steep gorge. Hemlocks, rhododendrons and native wildflowers grow along the surrounding trails.

   Park Service: Linville Falls (opens a new tab)

8. Mabry Mill

   Ed and Lizzy Mabry ground corn, sawed lumber and operated a blacksmith shop here. Their water-powered mill preserves the linked trades that supported a rural Appalachian community.

   Park Service: Mabry Mill (opens a new tab)

9. Milepost

   Concrete mileposts form the Parkway’s location system, starting at 0 near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and ending at 469 at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

   Park Service: Parkway mileposts (opens a new tab)

10. Moses Cone

    Textile manufacturer Moses Cone and his wife, Bertha, created Flat Top Manor as a summer estate. Its carriage roads were designed for both pleasure drives and work across the property.

    Park Service: Moses and Bertha Cone (opens a new tab)

11. Mount Pisgah

    Forests of trees that shed their leaves surround Mount Pisgah’s prominent peak. At this elevation, clouds, fog and cooler summer temperatures distinguish the area from the valleys below.

    Park Service: Mount Pisgah landscape (opens a new tab)

12. Peaks of Otter

    These Virginia peaks drew tourists during the 1800s, when residents opened homes and lodges to guests. Polly Wood’s Ordinary, an early tavern, preserves part of that hospitality.

    Park Service: Peaks of Otter history (opens a new tab)

13. Rockfish Gap

    At Rockfish Gap, the Parkway meets Skyline Drive, linking its northern end with Shenandoah’s ridge-top route through Virginia.

    Did you know?

    The stretch from Jarman Gap to Rockfish Gap was built as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, then transferred to Shenandoah National Park in 1961.

    Park Service: Skyline Drive history (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Parkway mileposts (opens a new tab)

14. Viaduct

    A raised roadway carried on a series of supports.

    At Linn Cove, precast concrete sections were joined into an elevated road deck. Builders worked from the deck itself, limiting the need for heavy machinery on the slope below.

    Park Service: Linn Cove engineering (opens a new tab)

15. Waterrock Knob

    Waterrock Knob’s high setting offers long views across several Appalachian mountain chains. The surrounding region of North Carolina is home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

    Park Service: Waterrock Knob (opens a new tab)