Blue Ridge Parkway

Just west of here is the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile-long scenic route that links Shenandoah National Park in VA with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in NC. An internationally recognized feat of landscape architecture and engineering, the parkway was designed to highlight the scenery and cultural heritage of southern Appalachia and to stimulate the region’s economy during the Great Depression. This project, led by the National Park Service, relied on the collaboration of federal agencies, New Deal public works programs, private contractors, and the governments of NC and VA. Constructed between 1935 and 1987, the parkway is the longest linear park in the U.S.

Department of Historic Resources, 2025