Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2019 - BRPG4

BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY VIRGINIA

Selected '19
Events Near
the Parkway
Taste of Monticello Wine Trail
Festival, Charlottesville, Apr. 29-May 5.
monticellowinetrailfestival.com.
Roanoke Festival in the Park,
Roanoke, May 24-26. roanokefestival.com.
9th Annual Chantilly Farm
Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, Floyd, May
24-25. chantillyfarm.com.
Green Valley Book Fair, Mount
Crawford, May 4-27; Jun. 22-Jul. 23;
Aug. 17-Sep. 8; Oct. 5-29; Nov. 29Dec.18. gobookfair.com.
75th Anniversary of D-Day
Commemoration, Bedford, Jun. 4 -9.
dday.org.
Juneteenth Celebration of
Freedom, Hardy, Jun. 15. nps.gov/bowa.
15th Annual Horse and Hound
Wine Festival, Bedford, Jul. 13.
bedfordwine.com.
Virginia Highlands Festival,
Abingdon, Jul. 26-Aug 4.
vahighlandsfestival.org.
Lynchburg Beer, Wine and
Cider Festival, Lynchburg, Sep. 21.
lynchburgbeerandwinefestival.com.
Smith Mountain Lake Wine
Festival, Moneta, Sept. 28-29.
visitsmithmountainlake.com.
Mountain Magic in Fall, Buchanan,
Oct. 5. townofbuchanan.com.
Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, Ferrum,
Oct. 26. blueridgefolklifefestival.com.
Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival,
Poplar Forest, Nov. 16. poplarforest.org.

4 BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

VIRGINIA

MP 5.8 | Humpback Rocks

WWW.VISITCHARLOTTESVILLE.ORG | BRENT MCGUIRT

Blue Ridge Parkway

VISITOR CENTERS AND HIGHLIGHTS

T

he Blue Ridge Parkway's
north end is at its meeting
with the Skyline Drive, at Rockfish Gap on Afton Mountain,
just off of I-64. Nearby Waynesboro offers lodging, dining and
attractions.
The parkway starts its journey south from here, but visitors
should consider a visit to the
jewel to the north-Shenandoah National Park and its own
ribbon of mountain-ridge roadway, the Skyline Drive. Among
the attractions along the 105mile roadway (35-mph speed
limit) that runs to the Front
Royal area are Sky Meadows and
Skyland lodges, both wonderful
examples of modern hospitality
in a rustic setting.
At Milepost 5.8, the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center
offers a museum, historic farm,
hiking trails and a picnic area.
The Humpback Rocks area offers three hiking trails and access
to the Appalachian Trail, which

MP 86 | Peaks of Otter
VISIT VIRGINIA'S BLUE RIDGE

Catawba Rhododendron
(Rhododendron catawbiense)
A medium shrub with
pink to purple flowers
growing above 3000
feet on exposed ridges.
June-Early July. Catawba
rhododendron is the
purple variety that
blooms from early
June around the Peaks
of Otter in Virginia to
the third week of June
at Craggy Gardens in
North Carolina. Any time
between these dates
there are spots of the
variety in bloom.

runs from Maine to Georgia.
The view from Humpback
Rocks is only about a half-mile
walk.
At Milepost 63.6 is the
James River Visitor Center.
The James River and Kanawha
Canal ran through this area
and operated until the 1870s,
with George Washington as
the "honorary president" of the
canal company. By 1840, the canal had made it 196 miles from
Richmond to Lynchburg, but in
1851, only half completed, con-

http://WWW.VISITCHARLOTTESVILLE.ORG http://www.monticellowinetrailfestival.com http://www.roanokefestival.com http://www.chantillyfarm.com http://www.gobookfair.com http://www.dday.org http://www.nps.gov/bowa http://www.bedfordwine.com http://www.vahighlandsfestival.org http://www.lynchburgbeerandwinefestival.com http://www.visitsmithmountainlake.com http://www.townofbuchanan.com http://www.blueridgefolklifefestival.com http://www.poplarforest.org

Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2019