Blue Ridge Parkway

Mother Nature was gracious and parted the rain clouds just in time for the third annual Denim Ball on Friday evening at Chetola Resort. The event raised $115,000 for repairs and improvements at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park thanks to an outpouring of support from individuals, sponsors, local businesses, and the community. More than 230 people attended to celebrate the remaking of history at the estate located at milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Each year, the Foundation works closely with the National Park Service to identify initiatives on the Blue Ridge Parkway that need your support. You can give to the projects that mean the most to you or the overall protection of the park. No matter how you choose to give, you’re investing in the future of one of the most treasured landscapes in our country.  

The Blue Ridge Parkway leaves each of us with special memories and a deep connection to the mountains. For Doris Luening, that bond was made when she and her family lived near Mount Mitchell as her father and uncle helped build the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s. Here is her story: Doris Luening was only five years old when she spent a year on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but even today she can direct you straight to the site of the camp that she and her family called home while her father and uncle helped construct the new roadway. 

Not long after public historian Mike Ryan became an interpretative ranger for the Blue Ridge Parkway in its Plateau District headquartered near Rocky Knob, he was asked if he might develop a program about Rock Castle Gorge a few miles south of the knob. Ryan had hiked the gorge a number of times, had seen the ruins of long-collapsed cabins there and knew that once upon a time, the gorge must have been a growing community of families who somehow coaxed a living from the steep hillside and rocky soil.  

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the life and work of Bertha Cone. Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, may bear the name of its philanthropist and conservationist founder, but after his untimely death a mere 10 years after the estate’s completion, his widow, Bertha, took up managing its 3,500 acres for nearly 40 years afterward.

Official announcement from the National Park Service:

The Blue Ridge Parkway leaves each of us with special memories. We invite you to share your experiences, remembrances, and the favorite places from your journeys. Tell us your story. Carrying forward a family tradition and legacy

The camping experience at Julian Price Park Campground is going to get even better this year with the addition of a new shower facility. Thanks to your support for the project, the new building will open later this summer at the popular campground at milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Textile magnate Moses H. Cone would never have allowed a leaky roof to go unattended at his beloved Flat Top Manor. Now it won’t. Work will begin on Monday, April 10, to replace the flat roof on the home thanks to your support!  

There are places you visit just once, and then there is the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a destination that keeps you coming back time and time again to relive remarkable experiences and discover new adventures. You can help ensure the Parkway remains the place we all love with these easy and meaningful ways to give back.