Customer Reviews

Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway: The Ultimate Guide to the Parkway's Best Attractions

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book as I live close to sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I am an amateur (very) photographer, hiker, nature enthusiast. I was curious as to where some of the better photo opportunities were located along the Parkway and did not have the luxury of spending a lot of time attempting to find the these locales on my own.

I also live close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and own a copy of another book co-authored by Nye Simmons, "The Smoky Mountains Photographers Guide". Because this has proven to be an outstanding guide, I presumed I could not go wrong with purchasing Nye Simmons latest offering, "Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway". I was definitely not disappointed! It is a wealth of information about everything you need to know about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Of course, the photography in it is outstanding. Mr. Simmons unselfishly shares photo tips on where and when a particular subject can best be photographed. However, this is not just a photo guide, but I'm sure it will serve you well whether you like to point and shoot, are a serious amateur or even a seasoned professional.

Each chapter sequentially covers a section of the Parkway beginning at the north end in Virginia. Since I live closer to the southern terminus, I just skipped ahead to those chapters. Besides the photo op info, there are strip maps of each section, info on points of interest both on and close to the Parkway (scenic views, hiking trails, historic info) as well as info on lodging, dining and gas stations along the way. If you are looking for a guide to the Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway, this is it!

Hubs and I drove up to North Carolina from South Florida over the Labor Day weekend. Because we were visiting family, we only had a short time to spend on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'm an amateur photographer, and was looking forward to finding some good places to get in some shooting time. We found this book just before we left, plotted out the time we had, and the places we wanted to see, and crossed fingers that we'd fit it all in. Thanks to this book, we did. This is a fantastic guide that proved invaluable to us on a short time budget.

PS. Take the 'MUST STOP vista' messages seriously. He's not kidding - they're awesome! =)

In June of 2011, I plan to ride my Harley Sportster from NY to Florida. Almost half of the trip will be on the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I bought this book at the recommendation of other readers especially because of the book's commentary on the location of gas stations and motels as well as mile by mile hi-lights.

I was extremely surprised and disappointed to see that this book was printed in China. Are we Americans no longer capable of producing our own travel guides? Some of the ink color selections make for difficult reading. This guide cries out for a spiral binding so you could lay it flat and turn the pages as you make progress on the parkway. Unfortunately, the binding is conventional and makes the book much more difficult to use.

Mine is the 2nd printing and by now I would have thought that some of the editing errors would have been cleaned up: missing word, spelling, etc.

The motel references are much more limited than I had hoped. Since there is very limited lodging on the parkway itself, I need something more useful.

The maps, according to the book, were modified from Park Service maps. There aren't any map keys and I haven't figured out what the red dots along the parkway mean.

The book features the author's photos which are numerous and very good, too. They offer inspiration for making the trip. There are many suggestions for stopping points and side-hikes. It should be a great trip.

We took a trip the end of October to BRP and used this book as our guide. It was an excellent resource of information, completely up to date.

Traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway can be very confusing; plus, there are many activities off the parkway that should be taken in. This guide give you valuable information that is easy to follow as it lists them by the mile marker.

We just returned from our vacation of traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway and this book was a great guide for making sure we saw all the best views, sites, and hikes. It was laid out by mile marker and listed all the relevant info such as gas availabilty, lodging, and food. It made our trip fabulous.

I purchased this book along with Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway before a recent trip down the Parkway. Best of the Blue Ridge has many nice photos, but not much info
Good to have had both guides - while there are lots of very beautiful and inspiring photos in this book, it gives very little info about things other than what the author has deemed "best." Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway gives details about all the various vista sites along the Parkway - helpful to know what one is looking at.
Based on both books' reviews, we stayed at the Peaks of Otter Lodge along the Parkway which was very nice.

If you are planning to take a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway, this is the one book that you MUST take along with you. Must!

Maps, guide to all the highlight on the Parkway by milepost and a number of great side trips, and some excellent tips of photo taking along the way. Because you must take photos! And the beautiful photos of Mr. Simmons will challenge you to do your best...and maybe give you some great ideals too.

One small issue. The book is set up as if you are driving from the northern end of the Parkway south. Which is fine...unless you are going in the other direction. In which case, it becomes a little less handy using this guide and makes you more apt to miss something interesting you may have wanted to check out.
I don't know, but would it be possible to take the info from this book and just turn it around and offer a South to North option? Same book, reversed. Ok, the introductions would have to be rewritten too, but still, that would be outstanding.

Grab this book and the free map and guide offered by the BRP folks and you will be all set for a truly lovely trip.

By far the best book on the Parkway. I've wasted $$ on several others but have sold all of this because this and a map are all you need.

great guide to get you started. we wish it had one entire map with the stops on it, so we could have judged the time with the distance.