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CURRENT Features

Blue Ridge Parkway: A Loving Lament

Elizabeth Hunter, who began contributing to this magazine with its first issue and served as its award-winning columnist until her retirement at the end of 2014, also wrote dozens of articles, with care, awe and love, about the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Essential Oils (from Fallen Trees)

With Blue Ridge Aromatics, Ian Montgomery has made his way—one step at a time and with a misstep or two—into the business of beautiful scents.

Allegheny Mountain Institute: Elora Overbey Comes Full Circle

Elora Overbey’s face lights up when she talks about food and family. “Our family’s love language is food,” she tells me. “It’s a shared passion.” So, it’s no surprise that she eventually ended up at the Allegheny Mountain Institute.

Eye in the Sky: Observatory Offers More Than View

West Virginia’s Hanging Rock is a great place to watch migratory hawks and other birds.

7 Fall Leaf-Color Stops

With surprises ranging from ghosts and spirits to delicious dining destinations and more, each stop is pure pleasure.

Current Issue

This view, looking south from Bluff Mountain, is of the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Alligator Rocks.

Blue Ridge Parkway: A Loving Lament

Elizabeth Hunter, who began contributing to this magazine with its first issue and served as its award-winning columnist until her retirement at the end of 2014, also wrote dozens of articles, with care, awe and love, about the Blue Ridge Parkway.
MAIN IMAGE: A small drop of liquid delivers a powerful punch of memory. INSET: Ian Montgomery inspects a plot of backyard bee balm beside gurgling Pine Branch.

Essential Oils (from Fallen Trees)

With Blue Ridge Aromatics, Ian Montgomery has made his way—one step at a time and with a misstep or two—into the business of beautiful scents.
Elora Overbey picks supper spinach in the greenhouse.

Allegheny Mountain Institute: Elora Overbey Comes Full Circle

Elora Overbey’s face lights up when she talks about food and family. “Our family’s love language is food,” she tells me. “It’s a shared passion.” So, it’s no surprise that she eventually ended up at the Allegheny Mountain Institute.
The Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory sits atop the sloping rocks of Peters Mountain in Monroe County, West Virginia.

Eye in the Sky: Observatory Offers More Than View

West Virginia’s Hanging Rock is a great place to watch migratory hawks and other birds.
This view of the formation is only one of the lures of North Carolina’s Chimney Rock State Park and the village below.

7 Fall Leaf-Color Stops

With surprises ranging from ghosts and spirits to delicious dining destinations and more, each stop is pure pleasure.
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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.

June 29, 2026
©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.

June 29, 2026
Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

June 29, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS