September 2025

Woolyback Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway

Celebrating Fall in the Smokies

Our longtime contributing editor distills five decades of Smokies adventures into a best-of-autumn roundup only a true park regular could deliver.
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The Man Behind the Elk

Breaks Interstate Park Superintendent Austin Bradley helped reintroduce wild elk to Virginia and created tours that let visitors experience them up close and personal.
Willie and Nellie Dawahare stand outside the family’s first full-fledged department store in Neon, Kentucky.

The ‘Sticks’ Lesson of Sticking Together: An Appalachian Love Story

The Dawahare (pronounced DAW-hair) family has a quintessential American story worth knowing — and celebrating.
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Missing the Mess

AI may help bring back disappearing bobwhites.
The Shenandoah Mountain Act in Congress would protect 92,562 acres.

Land Protections Advance in Virginia

Four conservation projects in Virginia got a recent boost from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

Departments

Behind Blue Ridge Country

Even More Sweet Virginia Breezes

Casually cruising to Claytor Lake in southwest Virginia, I felt like I had come home – back to where it

CALENDAR OF EVENTS