Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates 75th anniversary

The construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway began as a project to put people back to work during the Depression. Seventy-five years later, the winding roadway has evolved into one of the United States' most-visited national park sites, drawing about 17 million people annually and bringing about $2 billion to surrounding areas.

This year the National Park Service is celebrating the parkway's 75th anniversary with a variety of events, including a weekend festival in September. That makes this summer and fall a good time to enjoy hiking and camping, local arts, and small-town life along "America's Favorite Drive."

Since its groundbreaking on Sept. 11, 1935, at Cumberland Knob, N.C., on the Virginia border, the parkway has become an integral part of the mountains and the Appalachian communities that lie along its 469-mile route, as well as a gateway to the region's culture and history.

The parkway connects Shenandoah National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It starts at Rockfish Gap, Va.,  winds southwest through Virginia into mountainous western North Carolina. Along the way, travelers will find campgrounds and hiking trails, glimpses of small-town Appalachian life in places like Floyd, Va., the small cities of Roanoke, Va., and Asheville, N.C., and many other treasures tucked away in the mountains.

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