The Great Smoky Mountains ― Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park

Stunning photographs celebrate the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, iconic Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore Estate, and Shenandoah Valley and National Park.

Extending from Virginia to northern Georgia, the Blue Ridge Mountains include Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway, Monticello and the Biltmore Estate, and Shenandoah National Park, which includes the 105-mile-long Skyline Drive. The Blue Ridge range contains the highest mountains on the East Coast, with 125 peaks above 5,000 feet in elevation.

The scenic roadways, spectacular overlooks, and numerous rocky crags offer magnificent views of layer after layer of mountains rolling off into the distance. Hiking trails lead to wild mountain summits, valley streams, and waterfalls. Each season offers a fresh perspective, from fall colors and winter snow and ice to spring and summer flowers and storms. In addition, numerous homes, barns, schools, churches, and mills have been protected and preserved throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering a picturesque look at Appalachian life in past centuries. To appreciate the wonders of this region through the lens of a well-known master photographer is like exploring it for the first time.

Carl Heilman II is an internationally published photographer and author who has explored the Blue Ridge Mountain region for the past forty years. His work has been published in national and regional magazines such as Outside, National Geographic Explorer, the New York Times, and Nature Conservancy, and presented as shows on PBS. Since 1953, the nonprofit Great Smoky Mountains Association has supported the preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by promoting greater public understanding and appreciation through education, interpretation, and research.