The Triangle
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 The Blue Ridge Parkway
Each autumn, more than a million people will drive the Blue Ridge Parkway from Virginia through North Carolina. The Parkway follows mountain crests for almost 470 miles from the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Construction on the road began in 1935 near the North Carolina-Virginia line and ended with completion of the Grandfather Mountain segment in 1987.
The most varied fall color, as well as the longest lasting, occurs in the southern Appalachians, where a dozen or more kinds of trees may change color at slightly different times over the longer fall season. One of the features here is called "double peak." The first wave of colors comes from maples, hickories and poplars. Oaks usually change later, after the first frost. All are set against a backdrop of evergreens, such as cedar, hemlock, pine, and rhododendron.
Driving to the Parkway from the Triangle is about 180 miles one way. It can be done in a day, but staying overnight at a bed and breakfast can make a wonderful weekend. Be sure to bring back some crisp mountain apples when you return.
For more information about fall colors, fall festivals and the Parkway, visit NCNatural Magazine on the Web at:
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