National Park Roads

From Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains to Zion and Mount Rainier, millions of visitors tour America's national parks. While park roads determine what most visitors see and how they see it, however, few pause to consider when, why, or how the roads they travel on were built. This illustrated book highlights the qualities of park roads, details the factors influencing their design and development, and examines their role in shaping the national park experience--from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive to Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road, Yellowstone's Grand Loop, Yosemite's Tioga Road, and scores of other scenic drives.

The roads within America's national park system reveal a wide range of technological, aesthetic, and philosophical concerns. Their design and construction epitomize the central challenge of national park management: how to balance environmental protection with public access. The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), a division of the National Park Service, has spent more than a dozen years documenting the history of this vital aspect of the national park experience. America's National Park Roads and Parkways brings together 331 measured and interpretive drawings commissioned by HAER to illustrate the physical characteristics, design strategies, construction practices, and visitor experiences of roads in national parks from Acadia to Zion and parkways from the Blue Ridge to the Natchez Trace. Also included are non–Park Service projects that utilized similar design strategies, including the Bronx River Parkway and the Columbia River Highway. The book documents thirty-one projects, explaining how roads shape visitor perceptions, highlighting key characteristics of individual park road systems, and connecting their design and construction to the broader history of American engineering and landscape architecture. More than a documentary record of historic design and construction practices, this book has practical applications for engineers, landscape architects, and cultural resource specialists in guiding design decisions, interpreting historic sites, and informing contemporary debates on preservation and environmental protection. National Park Roads: Acadia National Park; Crater Lake National Park; Glacier National Park (Going-to-the-Sun Road); Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park; Mount Rainier National Park; Rocky Mountain National Park; Scotts Bluff National Monument; Sequoia National Park (Generals Highway); Shenandoah National Park (Skyline Drive); Yellowstone National Park; Yosemite National Park; Zion National Park National Military Parks: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park; Gettysburg National Military Park; Shiloh National Military Park; Vicksburg National Military Park Parkways: Baltimore-Washington Parkway; Blue Ridge Parkway; Colonial Parkway; George Washington Memorial Parkway; Natchez Trace Parkway; Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Park Road Precedents: Bronx River Parkway; Columbia River Highway

When the scenery out the car window is breathtaking, drivers and their passengers want maximum gaze time. Our popular road guide, completely revised and updated, features contiguous text and maps so visitors can follow the maps and descriptions as they drive along. The book's efficient design eliminates having to flip back and forth between maps and text and count odometer mileage--a major frustration of other road guides. This indispensable guide tracks the major roads within Yellowstone National Park and its neighbor Grand Teton National Park. Detailed topographical maps point out where to look for wildlife such as mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, and bear; geological formations; historical sites; and plants. Also included are locations for camping, fishing, and boating within the Wyoming parks. Several pages of maps and accompanying text cover the popular Grand Loop Road, describing the formation of the 308-foot Lower Falls, Yellowstone Canyon's best views from Artist's Point, and how Mud Volcano lives up to its name. This road guide not only helps visitors find their way around but also makes the trip richer, more interesting, and more enjoyable.

A guide to hiking trails and jeep roads in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, including 240 color and black & white photographs and 59 detailed trail maps

On January 1 of 2016, Stefanie Payne, a creative professional working at NASA Headquarters, and Jonathan Irish, a photographer with National Geographic, left their lives in Washington, D.C. and hit the open road on an expedition to explore and document all 59 of America's national parks during the centennial celebration of the U.S. National Park Service - 59 parks in 52 weeks - the Greatest American Road Trip. Captured in more than 300,000 digital photographs, written stories, and videos shared by the national and international media, their project resulted in an incredible view of America's National Park System seen in its 100th year. 'A Year in the National Parks, The Greatest American Road Trip' is a gorgeous visual journey through our cherished public lands, detailing a rich tapestry of what makes each park special, as seen along an epic journey to visit them all within one special celebratory year.

This pictorial history of Natchez Trace illustrates the people, places, and events that have shaped the area's cultural and natural history. The Natchez Trace is one of the oldest trails in North America. In 1801, President Jefferson ordered the Army to build a road along the trail to provide a route for moving troops and delivering mail. Jefferson dispatched soldiers down the road in 1803 to protect the Louisiana Purchase, and Andrew Jackson and his troops followed it to battle the British in the War of 1812. As an 1800-era link between Nashville, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi, the road served as a pathway for settling much of what we now know as the South. Twentieth-century writers such as Eudora Welty later embellished its lore of heroes, bandits, and spies, inspiring Southern leaders to revive the Natchez Trace.

Sharing the back-roads mystique of Route 66, U.S. 89 links America's favorite national parks, small towns and quirky roadside attractions from Canada to Mexico. Bypassed by modern interstates, Highway 89 remains the backbone to rural communities in Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, transecting the intermountain west's past and future. From Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, beauty queens to working cowboys, the book's stunning photographs and engaging text capture the west's enduring spirit.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling World Almanac comes a brand-new, full-color book celebrating the National Parks––"America's best idea"––and providing a valuable resource for first-time visitors and longtime park fans alike. From the rugged, rocky coasts of Acadia to the geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone to the in-your-face beauty of the Grand Canyon, the national parks of North America offer visitors a new sight or bucket-list-worthy experience at every turn. The World Almanac Road Trippers' Guide to National Parks provides detailed history, itineraries, visitor information, gorgeous photography, recommended hiking routes, and other not-to-be-missed sites and activities for anyone seeking to make the most out of the many resources of the national parks systems of the United States and Canada. Divided into travel regions for convenient research and planning whether the trip length is a day or a year, this is a tool eager travelers will use to discover new sites and off-the-beaten-path destinations again and again.