Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway: The Ultimate Travel Guide To America's Most Popular Scenic Roadway

by Randy Johnson

There has never been a better time to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway! This updated edition of Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway is ideal for anyone who uses the Parkway as a portal to the Southern Appalachian experience. It includes the best trails in the national forests, state parks, and private preserves that line the 469-mile roadway—from the southern end of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina—making it a single-volume solution for the serious explorer, whether on foot or by car.
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Genres: Travel, Reference, Outdoors

348 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Randy Johnson’s passion for the outdoors has inspired six books, as well as articles and photography that have appeared in national magazines and newspapers. He’s an internationally traveled photojournalist, author, magazine editor, and trail professional.

Reviews

[Karen Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did not steer me wrong on my seven-day road trip along the entire Blue Ridge Parkway from north to south. The hikes range from 0.2 mile jaunts right off overlooks to possibilities for much longer hikes if you want them. This book and the National Park Service map of the BRP we got at the initial visitor center were the only things we needed to navigate America’s most scenic byway!

[David Frankstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good guidebook. It steered me right.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good information in this one. Most every trail has a map, but he also lists where you can get a map, either from the Park office, or the USGS map the trail is in.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book as a guide to our road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall of 2019, and my main regret is not picking it up earlier in the year! There is a lot in this guide, and you can really use it to make an itinerary for the BRP that really focuses on the natural areas.

There are hike lengths ranging from a mile to multi-day backpacking journeys, and every major stop along the parkway is covered. I did use it to take a couple of short leg stretchers during our drive, but as I said, I wish I'd read it earlier, we would have put more days into driving the parkway and visiting some of these places. Hopefully, we'll get another chance!