Connect With Us
Facebook-f X-twitter Youtube Instagram

Departments

CURRENT Departments

From the Editor: New Life for a Downtown – Mast General Store is Coming!

Our town of Roanoke, Virginia has not had a downtown retail anchor for nearly a quarter century. That will change—and gloriously so—come next year.

Guest Column, Fred Alsop of East Tennessee State University

Professor of Biological Sciences Dr. Fred Alsop joined the faculty of East Tennessee State University in 1972. The author of 18 books on the birds of North America, he is the director of the EagleCam Project that has live-streamed around the world.

Our Blue Ridge Towns: Sylva/Dillsboro, North Carolina

Where Small Business is Big Business: An hour southwest of Asheville, two adjoining North Carolina towns have earned themselves a string of “firsts” and “onlys.”

The Good Walk: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

You can scale your walk just to view the stunning formations, or to get up-close and personal.

Creature Feature: Salamanders on Spring Parade

Come early spring at damp, leaf-covered spots in the Southern mountains, the salamander mating rituals can be spectacular.

Current Issue

The old Heironimus building in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, will get new life when Mast General Store arrives next year.

From the Editor: New Life for a Downtown – Mast General Store is Coming!

Our town of Roanoke, Virginia has not had a downtown retail anchor for nearly a quarter century. That will change—and gloriously so—come next year.
Dr. Fred Alsop

Guest Column, Fred Alsop of East Tennessee State University

Professor of Biological Sciences Dr. Fred Alsop joined the faculty of East Tennessee State University in 1972. The author of 18 books on the birds of North America, he is the director of the EagleCam Project that has live-streamed around the world.
Left to right: Glass artisans use methane from nearby landfill at the Green Energy Park. A Civil War soldier stands watch over Sylva’s Main Street. Public art decorates Sylva’s business district. A cat peruses the offerings at Sylva’s City Lights Bookstore.

Our Blue Ridge Towns: Sylva/Dillsboro, North Carolina

Where Small Business is Big Business: An hour southwest of Asheville, two adjoining North Carolina towns have earned themselves a string of “firsts” and “onlys.”
This view of the Double Arch is from the Auxier Ridge Trail.

The Good Walk: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

You can scale your walk just to view the stunning formations, or to get up-close and personal.
17f9cfa0-309a-11e9-8e03-120e7ad5cf50-Spotted-Salamander-on-moss-2

Creature Feature: Salamanders on Spring Parade

Come early spring at damp, leaf-covered spots in the Southern mountains, the salamander mating rituals can be spectacular.
VIEW MORE

Departments

Coyote (Canis latrans) wandering out from the forest into the loop road on a summer late morning.
Country Roads

Critters Crossing! 

States across the Blue Ridge are investing in wildlife crossings to protect animals and improve roadway safety.

September 1, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS