The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. 441 on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Both Skyline Drive and the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway are part of Virginia State Route 48, though this designation is not signed.
Spruce Knob, at 4,863 feet (1,482 m), is the highest point in the state of West Virginia and the summit of Spruce Mountain, the highest peak in the Allegheny Mountains.
Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet, it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes by the south side of the mountain and also passes over the nearby Grandmother Gap. It is located at the meeting point of Avery, Caldwell, and Watauga counties.
Shenandoah Mountain is a mountain ridge approximately 73 miles (117 km) long in Virginia and West Virginia. The steep, narrow, sandstone-capped ridge extends from northern Bath County, Virginia to southern Hardy County, West Virginia. Along the way, its crest defines the borders between Highland and Augusta counties, Virginia, and between Pendleton County, West Virginia, and Rockingham County, Virginia. The name comes from the Iroquoian word for 'deer'.
Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of 4,843 feet (1,476 m) above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the Allegheny Mountains.
The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia centers on five West Virginian counties in the upper Potomac River watershed in the western portion of the state's Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Because of geographical proximity, similar topography and landscapes, and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region also includes Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are in the Monongahela River or New River watersheds and not that of the Potomac River.
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina. The forest is managed together with the other three North Carolina National Forests from common headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina. There are local ranger district offices located in Pisgah Forest, Mars Hill, and Nebo.
The Linville Gorge Wilderness is the third largest wilderness area in North Carolina and one of only two wilderness gorges in the Southern United States. Maintained by the United States Forest Service, it comprises 11,786 acres (47.7 km2) around the Linville River, and is situated inside the Pisgah National Forest. The river is approximately 1,400 feet below the ridge, thus hiking in and out of the Gorge is challenging and enjoyable for those who like serious hiking. The plant and animal community is extremely diverse, with a dense hardwood/pine forest and a wide variety of smaller trees and other plants as well as bear, fox, raccoon, trout, grouse, wild turkey, vultures, owls, hawks, copperheads, and timber rattlesnakes.
Allegheny Mountain is a major mountain ridge in the southern range of the Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains. It forms the Eastern Continental Divide along part of its course and also serves as part of the Virginia-West Virginia state line.
North Fork Mountain is a quartzite-capped mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. Kile Knob, at 4,588 feet, is the mountain's highest point, and Panther Knob and Pike Knob are nearly as high.
The Linville River is a river in western North Carolina. The river begins in the slopes of Peak Mountain, Sugar Mountain and Flattop Mountain, in the Linville Gap. As it goes south through Avery County, it passes through the communities of Grandfather, Linville, Pineola, Crossnore and finally at Linville Falls. After entering Burke County at the community of Linville Falls, the river becomes the centerpiece of the Linville Falls and the Linville Gorge, an area referred to as "the Grand Canyon of North Carolina." After approximately 30 miles (48 km), the river ends at Lake James and the Catawba River; the original confluence with the Catawba River has been flooded by the creation of the reservoir in 1923.
Back Allegheny Mountain is a long mountain ridge in eastern West Virginia. It is part of the Shavers Fork Mountain Complex in the Allegheny Range of the Appalachians.
Woody's Knob, at an elevation of 4,170 feet, is a summit or "knob" in the Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the highest points in the unincorporated village of Little Switzerland and in Mitchell County, North Carolina.
Grandmother Mountain is a mountain in the North Carolina High Country, near the community of Linville. It is wholly in the Pisgah National Forest and next to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its elevation reaches 4,603 feet (1,403 m). The mountain generates feeder streams for the Linville River.
Pixie Mountain is a mountain in the North Carolina High Country, in the community of Linville. Its elevation reaches 4,058 feet (1,237 m). The mountain is adjacent to the Linville River.
Linville is an unincorporated community located in Rockingham County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located 6 miles north of Harrisonburg, Virginia. It contains the Linville United Church of Christ.
