Parkway 2.0: Plan for a makeover would offer visitors more comforts

ROCKY KNOB, Va. (Winston-Salem Journal) - Either the mountains are getting harder or the people who spend vacation time on them are getting softer.

Consider the plight of officials at the Blue Ridge Parkway: Faced with a public increasingly in search of a cushier mountaintop experience, the National Park Service is considering a makeover for the venerable linear park that would bring more air conditioning to its lodges, along with telephones and televisions.

Primitive campgrounds along the 469-mile scenic drive would begin offering electricity to campers to power their microwaves. And new paved trails in the surrounding woods would appeal to visitors who prefer bike rides on asphalt to rugged hikes over roots and rocks.