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Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway: The Ultimate Guide to the Parkway's Best Attractions Paperback – June 1, 2008
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Nye Simmons is the author of Tennessee Wonder and Light and a coauthor of The Smoky Mountains Photographer's Guide. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By
C. Holloway
on June 24, 2009
Format: Paperback
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I bought this book as I live close to sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I am an amateur (very) photographer, hiker, nature enthusiast. I was curious as to where some of the better photo opportunities were located along the Parkway and did not have the luxury of spending a lot of time attempting to find the these locales on my own.
I also live close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and own a copy of another book co-authored by Nye Simmons, "The Smoky Mountains Photographers Guide". Because this has proven to be an outstanding guide, I presumed I could not go wrong with purchasing Nye Simmons latest offering, "Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway". I was definitely not disappointed! It is a wealth of information about everything you need to know about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Of course, the photography in it is outstanding. Mr. Simmons unselfishly shares photo tips on where and when a particular subject can best be photographed. However, this is not just a photo guide, but I'm sure it will serve you well whether you like to point and shoot, are a serious amateur or even a seasoned professional.
Each chapter sequentially covers a section of the Parkway beginning at the north end in Virginia. Since I live closer to the southern terminus, I just skipped ahead to those chapters. Besides the photo op info, there are strip maps of each section, info on points of interest both on and close to the Parkway (scenic views, hiking trails, historic info) as well as info on lodging, dining and gas stations along the way. If you are looking for a guide to the Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway, this is it!
I also live close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and own a copy of another book co-authored by Nye Simmons, "The Smoky Mountains Photographers Guide". Because this has proven to be an outstanding guide, I presumed I could not go wrong with purchasing Nye Simmons latest offering, "Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway". I was definitely not disappointed! It is a wealth of information about everything you need to know about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Of course, the photography in it is outstanding. Mr. Simmons unselfishly shares photo tips on where and when a particular subject can best be photographed. However, this is not just a photo guide, but I'm sure it will serve you well whether you like to point and shoot, are a serious amateur or even a seasoned professional.
Each chapter sequentially covers a section of the Parkway beginning at the north end in Virginia. Since I live closer to the southern terminus, I just skipped ahead to those chapters. Besides the photo op info, there are strip maps of each section, info on points of interest both on and close to the Parkway (scenic views, hiking trails, historic info) as well as info on lodging, dining and gas stations along the way. If you are looking for a guide to the Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway, this is it!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By
jaosehl
on September 14, 2009
Format: Paperback
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Hubs and I drove up to North Carolina from South Florida over the Labor Day weekend. Because we were visiting family, we only had a short time to spend on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'm an amateur photographer, and was looking forward to finding some good places to get in some shooting time. We found this book just before we left, plotted out the time we had, and the places we wanted to see, and crossed fingers that we'd fit it all in. Thanks to this book, we did. This is a fantastic guide that proved invaluable to us on a short time budget.
PS. Take the 'MUST STOP vista' messages seriously. He's not kidding - they're awesome! =)
PS. Take the 'MUST STOP vista' messages seriously. He's not kidding - they're awesome! =)
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By
Thomas Stover
on April 21, 2011
Format: Paperback
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In June of 2011, I plan to ride my Harley Sportster from NY to Florida. Almost half of the trip will be on the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I bought this book at the recommendation of other readers especially because of the book's commentary on the location of gas stations and motels as well as mile by mile hi-lights.
I was extremely surprised and disappointed to see that this book was printed in China. Are we Americans no longer capable of producing our own travel guides? Some of the ink color selections make for difficult reading. This guide cries out for a spiral binding so you could lay it flat and turn the pages as you make progress on the parkway. Unfortunately, the binding is conventional and makes the book much more difficult to use.
Mine is the 2nd printing and by now I would have thought that some of the editing errors would have been cleaned up: missing word, spelling, etc.
The motel references are much more limited than I had hoped. Since there is very limited lodging on the parkway itself, I need something more useful.
The maps, according to the book, were modified from Park Service maps. There aren't any map keys and I haven't figured out what the red dots along the parkway mean.
The book features the author's photos which are numerous and very good, too. They offer inspiration for making the trip. There are many suggestions for stopping points and side-hikes. It should be a great trip.
I was extremely surprised and disappointed to see that this book was printed in China. Are we Americans no longer capable of producing our own travel guides? Some of the ink color selections make for difficult reading. This guide cries out for a spiral binding so you could lay it flat and turn the pages as you make progress on the parkway. Unfortunately, the binding is conventional and makes the book much more difficult to use.
Mine is the 2nd printing and by now I would have thought that some of the editing errors would have been cleaned up: missing word, spelling, etc.
The motel references are much more limited than I had hoped. Since there is very limited lodging on the parkway itself, I need something more useful.
The maps, according to the book, were modified from Park Service maps. There aren't any map keys and I haven't figured out what the red dots along the parkway mean.
The book features the author's photos which are numerous and very good, too. They offer inspiration for making the trip. There are many suggestions for stopping points and side-hikes. It should be a great trip.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By
Zaz Woods
on November 16, 2009
Format: Paperback
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We took a trip the end of October to BRP and used this book as our guide. It was an excellent resource of information, completely up to date.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
N. Stanford
on May 29, 2011
Format: Paperback
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I purchased this book along with Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway before a recent trip down the Parkway. Best of the Blue Ridge has many nice photos, but not much info
Good to have had both guides - while there are lots of very beautiful and inspiring photos in this book, it gives very little info about things other than what the author has deemed "best." Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway gives details about all the various vista sites along the Parkway - helpful to know what one is looking at.
Based on both books' reviews, we stayed at the Peaks of Otter Lodge along the Parkway which was very nice.
Good to have had both guides - while there are lots of very beautiful and inspiring photos in this book, it gives very little info about things other than what the author has deemed "best." Guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway gives details about all the various vista sites along the Parkway - helpful to know what one is looking at.
Based on both books' reviews, we stayed at the Peaks of Otter Lodge along the Parkway which was very nice.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
E. Bowles
on June 18, 2014
Format: Paperback
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I was quite disappointed in The Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway. My interest was in the photography advice. Nye Simmons and Bill Campbell co-authored the top guide to photographing the Smokies, but this solo effort on the Blue Ridge Parkway by Nye is lacking.
The book is a good solid guide to driving or touring the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are good short descriptions of hiking trails off the parkway and places to explore. The maps of small parkway sections are good. The photographs illustrating the guide are excellent - as you would expect from Nye. As a general guide this book probably carries a 3 or 3.5 star rating. But the book represents itself equally as a guide for photography - and there it falls short.
My fault with the guide is that it is overly general. For example, in describing the southernmost 30 mile section of the parkway, he provides no photography notes. In that section, there is a short description of the Heintooga Ridge Road, but the only reference to photography opportunities is a brief comment about blooming phacelia on the Flat Creek Trail. Waterrock Knob is the highest point on that section of the parkway and warranted a small photo in the book, but there is no description of time of day or photographic opportunities and how they compare to other areas.
Generally there is little mention of sunrise or sunset location preferences. Those are the critical times of day for a photographer, and if you are in the wrong location, it's often 8-10 miles and 20 minutes of driving to an alternate location along the parkway. I look for specific comments about the best sunrise and sunset locations for a given time of year. If the author's intent is to "just explore it for yourself", then the book offers little value.Read more ›
The book is a good solid guide to driving or touring the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are good short descriptions of hiking trails off the parkway and places to explore. The maps of small parkway sections are good. The photographs illustrating the guide are excellent - as you would expect from Nye. As a general guide this book probably carries a 3 or 3.5 star rating. But the book represents itself equally as a guide for photography - and there it falls short.
My fault with the guide is that it is overly general. For example, in describing the southernmost 30 mile section of the parkway, he provides no photography notes. In that section, there is a short description of the Heintooga Ridge Road, but the only reference to photography opportunities is a brief comment about blooming phacelia on the Flat Creek Trail. Waterrock Knob is the highest point on that section of the parkway and warranted a small photo in the book, but there is no description of time of day or photographic opportunities and how they compare to other areas.
Generally there is little mention of sunrise or sunset location preferences. Those are the critical times of day for a photographer, and if you are in the wrong location, it's often 8-10 miles and 20 minutes of driving to an alternate location along the parkway. I look for specific comments about the best sunrise and sunset locations for a given time of year. If the author's intent is to "just explore it for yourself", then the book offers little value.Read more ›
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