The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469.1 miles (755 km) through the famous Blue Ridge Mountains, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Land on either side of the road is maintained by the National Park Service and in some stretches, by the United States Forest Service.
Begun during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the project was originally called the "Appalachian Scenic Highway". Work began on September 11, 1935 and took over fifty-two years to complete, the last stretch (near the Linn Cove Viaduct) being laid around Grandfather Mountain in 1987.
The Parkway runs from the southern terminus of Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive in Virginia to U.S. 441 at Oconaluftee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. There is no fee for using the Blue Ridge Parkway, however commercial vehicles are prohibited, except for tour buses. The roadway is not maintained in the winter, and weather is extremely variable in the mountains, so conditions and closures often change rapidly.
