CURRENT FEATURES

Kayaks on Toccoa River Below the Falls

7 Fabulous Float-to-Stays

Paddling trips on scenic rivers to great mountain towns make for perfect summer getaways.
Blooming rosebay rhododendrons frame a lovely, fast-moving cascade along the Oconaluftee River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. Photo by Robert Stephens

Currents & Cascades: A Photo Essay

Our contributing photographers followed the flow of summer.
Sunrise Landscape Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg TN and Oconaluftee Valley Cherokee NC

Summer Fun in the Smokies

Our longtime contributing editor knows Great Smoky Mountains National Park like the back of her hand. Drawing inspiration from countless visits over the years, she
Mural at the George Buckley Community Center in Marmet, starting point of the Miners’ March.

Courage in the Hollers

More than a century after the 1921 West Virginia Miners’ March that ended with the Battle of Blair Mountain, the story is being told in
Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA, - May 15, 2021: Reenactment at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park of the Siege of Fort Watauga in 1776.

Revolutionary Roundup

On July 4, 1776, a new nation was born. In honor of this historic day, we explore the forts, battlefields, museums, trails, and more that

PHOTO ESSAYS

Spring wildflowers bloom early in the New River Gorge of West Virginia. From the photographer: “Bloodroot is one of the first to blossom, fittingly coming in around the first day of spring. The reddish sap that exudes from all parts of the plant — especially the root — when cut is what gives bloodroot its common name.”

Scenes of Spring: A Photo Essay

Our contributing photographers reveal the fresh sights and subtle joys of the season.
Daybreak at Elakala Falls in West Virginia’s Blackwater Falls State Park on a perfect winter morning.

Quiet Beauty of Mountain Winter: A Photo Essay

Our contributing photographers braved the chill to capture the calm of the cold months.

DEPARTMENTS

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.
©Duncan Seaman

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.
Synchronous Fireflies

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.
Eli severs a smooth chanterelle from the ground.

Summer Mushrooming

A morning spent foraging for fungi turns into a friendly competition between the grandsons. Photo Above: Eli severs a smooth chanterelle from the ground. /

kid chasing a cow

Singing in the Garden: Pride Goeth After the Herd

“Cows give milk, but they also provide an excellent source of comedy.” —Unknown

Do You Love Great Stories About the Blue Ridge Mountains? We Do Too!

Help Us Continue Our Mission of Covering the Mountains of the South. Thank You!

WEB EXTRAS

Mountain Laurel. Credit Leonard M. Adkins

June’s Mountain Wildflower: Mountain Laurel

If you are out in the fall, stop to examine the small capsules on the mountain laurel; these were once the plant’s flowers in May,
Mayapple. Credit Joe Cook and Monica Sheppard

May’s Mountain Wildflower: Mayapple

Despite its name, the fruit, which looks more like a yellowish-green, egg-shaped berry than an apple, usually does not begin to develop until early to
White jelly snow fungus growing in the author’s Botetourt County, Virginia woodlot.

May’s Wild Edible: White Jelly Snow Fungus

“Pass the fungus,” is not common dinnertime conversation in the Blue Ridge Mountains region, but that’s because folks perhaps have not heard of the white
Wild garlic growing in Fayette County, West Virginia.

April’s Wild Edible: Wild Garlic

Fayette County, West Virginia’s Mitchell Dech is one of my foraging mentors, and when he wants me to try an edible new to me …

COUNTRY ROADS

NightFlight Expedition Takes Off at Dollywood

NightFlight Expedition Takes Off at Dollywood

The new coaster is the Tennessee theme park’s largest single attraction investment to date.
Ron Messina | Courtesy of the Department of Wildlife Resources

Historic Easement Protects SWVA Land, Opens It to the Public

Lovers of wildlife, woodlands, and waters will soon have a vast area to explore in Southwest Virginia.
This is a landscape photograph of the night sky with the Milky Way over rural Bryson City during summer in the Great Smoky Mountains North Carolina.

Skywatch: May/June 2026

The two planets that, at times, dominate the early evening sky are slowly heading toward each other for a dramatic showdown in early June.
A $1.21 million grant will help the Monacan Indian Nation purchase more than 300 acres on Bear Mountain in Amherst County. © The Conservation Fund

28 New Grants Support Virginia Land, Cultural Sites, and Wildlife

The Virginia Land Conservation Fund has announced grants for 28 projects across the commonwealth, including efforts to purchase tracts that hold cultural and archaeological significance

CALENDAR OF EVENTS