Welcome to the Blue Ridge Parkway Blog

The Blue Ridge Parkway at Grandfather MountainThe Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs through the famous Blue Ridge, a mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It is the longest, narrowest National Park in the world and is the most visited unit in the US National Park System. This online community is a creation of Virtual Blue Ridge in association with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

Our goal is to provide a community for the collective Parkway Voice to be heard and responded to. We encourage free thought among our visitors. However, obscenities and personal attacks will be censored and moderated.

Note: The views contained within this community are those of the contributors. The principals and board members of Virtual Blue Ridge and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation may or may not share those same views.

For more information on the operation of this community, please read our code of conduct.

Recent Blue Ridge Parkway Community Activities

The Benefits of Hiking (in Virginia)

The weather may be a bit brisk here in Virginia, but that doesn’t mean your hiking activities have to cease! Bundle up, grab a friend, and trek up and down the vast amount of hiking trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Finish Reading »

Vince Gill Added To Merlefest 25 Lineup

Vince Gill, one of the most  popular and honored performers in country music today – and one of the most respected musicians in Nashville – has been added to the MerleFest 25 lineup. Gill will perform on Thursday, April 26, delivering the closing performance of the evening. MerleFest 25, presented Finish Reading »

Across-the-Way Productions Announces 2012 FloydFest 11 Initial Line-Up

The 11th annual music and arts festival that bears the moniker of its hometown of Floyd, Virginia, kicks off a second decade in July of 2012 with a bursting-at-the seams line-up of genre-spanning entertainment. FloydFest, which celebrated its tenth birthday in 2011 with an at capacity crowd of 14,000 daily Finish Reading »

2012 AMPC Finalists Announced

Thank you to all photographers who submitted to the 9th annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition. This year’s panel of judges have selected 49 images for exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Congratulations from the organizers and sponsors of the AMPC to all the selected photographers and a sincere Finish Reading »

Five Ladders Replaced On Grandfather Mountain’s Most Famous Trail

Hikers taking the trek across Grandfather Mountain’s ridgeline can now enjoy five new ladders on the Grandfather Trail.  The new ladders on MacRae Cliff replace the old ones that had been up for decades on what many people consider to be one of the most exciting spots along the ridgeline Finish Reading »