Country Roads

CURRENT Country Roads

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 for Native Americans and to preserve wetlands, forests, and Civil War battlefields.
Courtesy of Wunderland

Old Fort Welcomes One-of-a-Kind Retreat

An experience-driven entrepreneur has transformed 35 wooded acres in North Carolina into a distinctive lodging destination.
Vernon and Toni Wright turn grains grown on their family farm into freshly distilled spirits.

Virginia Century Farm Home to New Distillery

For nearly 200 years, Vernon and Toni Wright’s family has raised corn, cattle and quarter horses at Hill High.
skywatch

March/April Skywatch: Late Winter Celestial Attractions

Stars are without a doubt far, even the closest ones.

Departments

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

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
Country Roads

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
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS