Appalachian Mountain Travel

General Sites

• Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles.
  • Order books from the Great Smoky Mountains Association
    Or a T-shirt!
• Blue Ridge Country Magazine
  Links from the Blue Ridge Country magazine to sites in the Blue Ridge states: Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
• Blue Ridge Parkway (National Park Service)
  The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile recreational motor road that protects the cultural and natural features of the Blue Ridge while connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.
• Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge Parkway Association)
  A scenic drive that runs along the mountains for 469 miles, connecting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
• Great Smoky Mountains Association
  Order books, maps and guides before you go!
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park, comprised of 521,000 acres in Tennessee and North Carolina.
• Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
  The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a five-day program of conducted nature walks, motorcades and photographic tours in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the end of April.
• Visit Appalachia
  To help visitors plan their travels in Appalachia, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), with guidance from its Tourism Advisory Council, developed this website to provide information on travel destinations within Appalachia and resources for those seeking to visit the Appalachian Region.

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Pittsburgh Region

According to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), all of Western Pennsylvania is within Appalachia.

• Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau
  Information about the mountains directly to the east of Pittsburgh, from the official tourism promotion agency for the region in Southwestern Pennsylvania comprising Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties.
• The Alleghenies
  Travel information from visitor bureaus throughout the Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian Mountain range (The Alleghenies), covering 8 regions from Johnstown and the Laurel Highlands to State College.

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Kentucky

• Kentucky Bourbon Trail
  The Appalachians are known for their moonshine and Kentucky produces more than 95 percent of the world's bourbon whiskey and this web site provides visitor information about some of the most famous distilleries, including Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey.
• KET: Kentucky Life
  A weekly public television series celebrating the people and places of Kentucky. Some are available to watch online.
• Lexington, Kentucky: The Athens of the West
  A National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Travel itinerary. This itinerary highlights 29 of its historic places that convey the story of Lexington's charm, development and renewed interest in this city's sense of the past.
• Louisville
  From the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau

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Maryland

• Deep Creek Lake Area in Garrett County, Maryland
  Touris information from the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. Garrett County is the westernmost county, on the border with Pennsylvania
• The Mountain Side of Maryland
  The mountain side of Maryland with information on events, attractions, lodging.

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North Carolina

• Explore Ashville
  The official tourism site of the town nestled between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains.
• Grandfather Mountain
  Grandfather Mountain, highest peak in the Blue Ridge, is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve and considered the most biologically diverse mountain in eastern North America. Located near Linville, North Carolina.

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Ohio

• Appalachian Ohio
  Although this is an economic development site for the region, it also provides information on things to do and tourism.

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Tennessee

• Museum of Appalachia
  Located in Norris, Tennessee, the Museum of Appalachia is a living history museum of pioneer, frontier, and early artifacts of mountain life in the Southern Appalachians. Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.
• Tennessee Vacations
  A website from the state Department of Tourist Development. East Tennessee is the region of the Great Smokey Mountains.

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Virginia

• The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail
  "The Crooked Road, Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, winds through the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Here, the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Traditional Country music is as beautiful and rugged as the landscape itself." (There's lots of news coverage about it to learn more.)
• Shenandoah National Park
  From the National Park Service
  • Shenandoah Natural Park Association Bookstore
    Order books, maps and guides before you go!
• Washington Post: Virginia's Crooked Road: A Warm Welcome to Mountain Music
  This Sunday, October 4, 2009, article features the Crooked Road: Virginia's Music Heritage Trail -- a 250-mile path of music venues in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian regions of southwestern Virginia.