A university press, especially one as prestigious as the UNC Press, does not lightly go into the guide book business, and it shows in the quality of this book. Leonard M. Adkins is a leader in the field, the author of over 20 guidebooks who has hiked over 20,000 miles in North America, Europe, and New Zealand, but the majority in the Appalachians, including the AT five times and all of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s trails. This book is for hikers – car riders will find it cluttered with too much about trails - but it includes enough information about the Parkway as a road and its developments that a Parkway hiker doesn’t need another book. It includes 255 trails - 12 are new ones since the last edition of this book in 2013 - 72 maps, the locations of public restrooms, elevation charts for bicyclers, tunnel heights for RVs, wheelchair accessibility information, as well as a wildflower bloom calendar. “Adkins justifiably claims that this book is 'the only guide you will ever need' when hiking, driving, or biking along the Blue Ridge Parkway. . . . An excellent resource for walkers, hikers, or anyone planning a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.--Library Journal.
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2018. 408 pages with a foreword by J. Richard Wells, an Index, Suggested Readings and Field Guides, maps, and photos. Trade paperback