Common Question: I'm planning to visit the Parkway in (pick a month/season) and I want to know if there is a map available to help me plan the trip. Where do I find a map of the entire Blue Ridge Parkway?
Answer: Up until about 3 years ago (early 2005) this was a hard question to answer. There simply weren't any good maps of the Blue Ridge Parkway available. Sure, the National Park Service provides a map of the entire 469 mile park, but it lacks a lot of detail that a traveler needs. This map is available at many locations along the parkway including visitor centers and parks. The good thing about this map is that it is free. You can even download it from the Internet here.
Recently, we started building a Blue Ridge Parkway map section on Virtual Blue Ridge that has even more information. This new content includes several digital downloads that you can print on demand for your day-hikes or trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
In 2004, we were actually contemplating producing a map for the purpose of providing a better, commercialized version of the Parkway map for the avid Blue Ridge Parkway traveler. At the same time, so were the people at Outdoor Paths Publishing. They created the first Parkway map that we consider valuable to the Parkway traveler. It was called the "Detailed Guidemap to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina". Whew, what a long name to market.
The map only spanned the Parkway from Milepost 289 to 469, but man... what detail it provided. Trails, Visitor Centers, Parks, restrooms, convenience centers, overlooks and more... it had it all. We couldn't really find anything that they needed to do other than provide a map for the other half of the Parkway. They did that in 2007 and decided to shorten the names to "Detailed Guidemap to the Blue Ridge Parkway: Northern Section", "Detailed Guidemap to the Blue Ridge Parkway: Central Section", and "Detailed Guidemap to the Blue Ridge Parkway: Southern Section". Still a long name, but that was exactly what they produced.
Now, why did they need 3 maps? Because that's how much "stuff" there is to do along the Blue Ridge Parkway. In all honesty, they really couldn't have done a better job. If they had tried to make one map, it would not have been nearly as valuable.
"Why," might you ask, "did the National Park Service not create a map like this?" Two primary reasons: a) budget and b) commercialization. See, the National Park Service - Blue Ridge Parkway has chosen to keep the Parkway a thing of natural scenic beauty and won't endorse any businesses. Thus, they could not create a map that provided all the information that an avid traveler would need.
There are other maps on the Blue Ridge Parkway and they are all available on the Blue Ridge Parkway Store. We don't recommend them as much, but they each have their own benefits for different Parkway travelers.
You can find out more about all these maps through the links below:
- Blue Ridge Parkway Laminated Tour Map
This map is produced by JSK Map Services and is a really good map that was introduced in the fall of 2006. They are currently working on a second edition and when it's available, we'll update this post. In the meantime, it won't compete with the Detailed Guidemap series, but it has it's own benefit. Namely, it's laminated and has the entire parkway in one folding map. There's not as much detail, but it also has an elevation profile that follows the map as you go from North to South. I personally like laminated maps because you can mark on them with dry-erase markers to help plot your trip.
- Blue Ridge Parkway Viewfinder
This map was produced by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and is a rather unique map. It allows you to visit 8 of the finest overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway and identify the peaks as you look around at the panoramic mountainscapes. It basically tells you where to stand in the overlook and then you hold it in front of yourself to make the identifications.
- Virtual Blue Ridge CD-ROM
This is our own production and has it's merit. It would be listed first, but it's not really a map in the conventional sense. This is because it's a digital product. It integrates the NPS map and allows you to click on icons of overlooks, parks, and visitor centers to view 360 degree panoramas from your computer. Unfortunately, there is not a print option, but it's a great tool to plan your trip.
- Blue Ridge Parkway Folded Scenic Map
I never have really understood why this map is as popular as it is, but it is. The map is only of Western North Carolina, but it's a souvenir pictorial map. It's illustrated in 3D and presents the general path of the Blue Ridge Parkway as it meanders through the cities and towns of western North Carolina.
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Maps
Wow, what a series. These are intended for the avid hiker, but you can't really ask for more than National Geographic provides. This series of maps highlights all the trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park. Lots of the trails on these top maps are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but there's many more adjacent to Parkway lands to be found also. A hiker could savor the journeys these maps create for years. Last year (2007), they released a new product that is a CD-ROM version of all these maps of the Southern Appalachians. From it, you can select any area you want and print it from your desktop printer on special map paper that is weatherproof. I would consider the printed maps or the software product to be a must-have for any hiker in the Blue Ridge Mountain region.
Well, that's about it for maps on the Parkway.