Appalachian Mountains

On this page you'll find information on hiking and backpacking into the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia sections of the Appalachian Mountains, often referred to as the Alleghenies.

Pittsburgh Region

Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau
Information about the mountains directly to the east of Pittsburgh, from the official tourism promotion agency for the region in Southwestern Pennsylvania comprising Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties.

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General Sites

Appalachian Trail Conservancy
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/
The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles.

Order books from the Appalachian Trail Conference Trail Store
Or a T-shirt!

Blue Ridge Country Magazine
http://www.blueridgecountry.com/
Links from the Blue Ridge Country magazine to sites in the Blue Ridge states: Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Blue Ridge Online
online visitor guide to the unique people, crafts, music, folklore, history and travel opportunities within the Blue Ridge/Appalachian regions of the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and north Georgia.

Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469 mile recreational motor road that protects the cultural and natural features of the Blue Ridge while connecting Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. A National Park Service website.

Blue Ridge Parkway
http://www.blueridgeparkwayusa.com/
A scenic drive that runs along the mountains through Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/
From the National Park Service. 521,000 acres in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Great Smoky Mountains Association Bookstore
http://www.smokiesstore.org/
Order books, maps and guides before you go!

Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
http://www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org/
The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is a five-day program of conducted nature walks, motorcades and photographic tours in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the end of April.

National Geographic: Discover Appalachia
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/appalachia/
This is a special advertising section with a cool interactive map that provides information about attractions and links to the attraction's website.

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Kentucky

KET: Kentucky Life
A weekly public television series celebrating the people and places of Kentucky.

Lexington, Kentucky: The Athens of the West
A National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Travel itinerary. This itinerary highlights 29 of its historic places that convey the story of Lexington's charm, development and renewed interest in this city's sense of the past.

Louisville Scene
Presented by the Louisville Courier-Journal. See what's happening in Kentucky.

Louisville: Online Guide to Greater Louisville
From the Louisville and Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau

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Maryland

Allegany County, Maryland
The mountain side of Maryland with information on events, attractions, lodging.

Garrett County Chamber of Commerce
Deep Creek Lake, MD. Garrett County is the westernmost county, on the border with Pennsylvania

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North Carolina

Appalachian Cultural Museum
Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina

Ashville, North Carolina
nestled between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. From their Chamber of Commerce.

Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain, highest peak in the Blue Ridge, is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve and considered the most biologically diverse mountain in eastern North America. Located near Linville, North Carolina.

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Ohio

Appalachian Ohio
http://www.appalachianohio.com/
Although this is an economic development site for the region, it also provides information on things to do and tourism.

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Tennessee

Museum of Appalachia
http://www.museumofappalachia.com/
Located in Norris, Tennessee, the Museum of Appalachia is a living history museum of pioneer, frontier, and early artifacts of mountain life in the Southern Appalachians. Affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

Tennessee Vacations
http://www.tnvacation.com/
A website from the state Department of Tourist Development. East Tennessee is the region of the Great Smokey Mountains.

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Virginia

Shenandoah National Park
http://www.nps.gov/shen/
From the National Park Service

Shenandoah Natural Park Association Bookstore
http://www.snpbooks.org/
Order books, maps and guides before you go!