National Parkway

{{short description|Protected roadway operated by the U.S. National Park Service}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{infobox state highway system |header_type=hist |title=National Parkways |shields=[[File:US-NationalParkService-ShadedLogo.svg|x70px|alt=]] |caption=Logo for the National Park Service |map= |map_notes= |length_mi= |length_ref= |interstate=Interstate nn (I-nn) |us=U.S. Highway nn, U.S. Route nn (US nn) |statehwy= Varies by state |formed= |links=Byway }} A '''National Parkway''' is a designation for a [[protected area]] in the [[United States]] given to scenic roadways with a protected corridor of surrounding parkland. National Parkways often connect cultural or historic sites.<ref>{{cite book |author= Staff |title= Learning About the National Park System and The National Park Service |url= http://www.nps.gov/liho/forteachers/upload/NP%20System%20and%20Service.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080217070356/http://www.nps.gov/liho/forteachers/upload/NP%20System%20and%20Service.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= February 17, 2008 |format= PDF |publisher= [[National Park Service]] |page= 4 |access-date= November 30, 2013 }}</ref> The U.S. [[National Park Service]] manages the parkways. __TOC__

==History==  ===Parkways=== [[File:Natchez-Trace-Parkway-Highsmith.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|The [[Natchez Trace Parkway]]]] The first ''parkways'' in the United States were developed in the late 19th century by landscape architects [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] and [[Beatrix Farrand]] as roads segregated for pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians, and [[horse carriage]]s, such as the [[Eastern Parkway]] and [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]] in [[Brooklyn, New York]]. The terminology "parkway" to define this type of road was coined by [[Calvert Vaux]] and Olmsted in their proposal to link city and suburban parks with "pleasure roads." Newer roads such as the [[Delaware Park-Front Park System|Bidwell]] and [[Delaware Park-Front Park System|Lincoln Parkway]]s in [[Buffalo, New York]], were designed for automobiles and are broad and divided by large landscaped central medians. Parkways can be the approach to large urban parks, such as the [[Mystic Valley Parkway]] to [[Boston Common (park)|Boston Common]] in Boston. Some separated express lanes from local lanes, though this was not always the case.

During the early 20th century, the meaning of the word was expanded to include [[controlled-access highway]]s designed for recreational driving of automobiles with landscaping. These parkways originally provided scenic routes without at-grade intersections, very slow vehicles, or pedestrian traffic. Their success led to more development however, expanding a city's boundaries, eventually limiting their recreational driving use. The [[Arroyo Seco Parkway]] between [[Downtown Los Angeles]] and [[Pasadena, California]], is an example of lost pastoral aesthetics. It and others have become major commuting routes, while retaining the name parkway.

===National parkways=== In the 1930s, as part of the [[New Deal]], the U.S. federal government constructed national parkways designed for recreational driving, and to commemorate historic [[trail]]s and routes. As with other roads through national parks, these mostly undivided and two-lane parkways have lower [[speed limit]]s, and are maintained by the [[National Park Service]] and the [[Federal Highway Administration]] jointly through the Federal Lands Transportation Program. An example is the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]-built [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] in the [[Appalachian Mountains]] of [[North Carolina]] and [[Virginia]]. Others are: [[Skyline Drive]] in [[Virginia]]; [[John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway]] in [[Wyoming]], the [[Natchez Trace Parkway]] in [[Mississippi]], [[Alabama]], and [[Tennessee]]; and the [[Colonial Parkway]] in eastern Virginia's [[Historic Triangle]] area.<ref>{{cite web |first1= Tim |last1= Thornton |first2= Isak |last2= Howell |name-list-style= amp |title= Parkway’s Past Haunts its Future |url= http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/special_sections/parkway/parkway1.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121009162431/http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/special_sections/parkway/parkway1.html |archive-date= October 9, 2012 |work= [[The Roanoke Times]] |url-status= dead }}</ref> The [[George Washington Memorial Parkway]] and the [[Clara Barton Parkway]], running along the [[Potomac River]] near [[Washington, D.C.]], were also constructed during this era.

==List== {{incomplete list|date=July 2014}}Four parkways are stand-alone [[List of official units of the United States National Park System|units of the National Park System]]: Blue Ridge Parkway, George Washington Parkway, John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, and Natchez Trace Parkway.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Park System (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm|access-date=2021-03-02|website=www.nps.gov|language=en}}</ref> Others are managed as part of another unit. {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Name ! scope="col" | Length (mi) ! scope="col" | Length (km) ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Southern or western terminus ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Northern or eastern terminus ! scope="col" | Date ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Description ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{abbr|Ref(s).|References}} |- ! scope="row" | [[Baltimore–Washington Parkway]] | {{convert|30.5|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[U.S. Route 50 in Maryland|US 50]] / [[Maryland Route 201 |MD 201]] in [[Cheverly, Maryland|Cheverly, MD]] | Russell Street in [[Baltimore|Baltimore, MD]] | {{dts| December 1950}} | Original envisioned in [[Pierre Charles L'Enfant]]'s original layout for [[Washington, DC]], in the 18th century; part of [[Greenbelt Park]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] | {{convert|469.1|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[U.S. Route 441 in North Carolina|US 441]] in [[Swain County, North Carolina|Swain County, NC]] | [[U.S. Route 250 in Virginia|US 250]]/Skyline Drive in [[Rockfish Gap, Virginia|Rockfish Gap, VA]] | {{dts| June 30, 1936}} | America's longest [[linear park]]; runs mostly along the [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]], a major [[mountain chain]] that is part of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. Continues past northern terminus as Skyline Drive. | <ref name="TCLF">{{cite web |url= http://tclf.org/landscapes/blue-ridge-parkway |title= Blue Ridge Parkway |publisher= The Cultural Landscape Foundation}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | [[Clara Barton Parkway]] | {{convert|6.8|mi|km|disp=table}} | MacArthur Boulevard in [[Carderock, Maryland|Carderock, MD]] | [[Canal Road (Washington, D.C.)|Canal Road]] in [[Washington, DC]] | {{dts|1930}} | Built as the Maryland portion of the [[George Washington Memorial Parkway]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[Colonial Parkway]] | {{convert|23.0|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[Historic Jamestowne]] in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown, VA]] | SR 1020 in [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown, VA]] | {{dts|1937}} | Links the three points of Virginia's [[Historic Triangle]]: Jamestown, [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], and Yorktown; part of [[Colonial National Historical Park]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[Foothills Parkway]] | {{convert|26.8|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[U.S. Route 129 in Tennessee|US 129]] in [[Chilhowee, Tennessee| Chilhowee, TN]]<hr /> [[U.S. Route 321 in Tennessee|US 321]] near [[Walland, Tennessee|Walland, TN]] |US 321 in [[Cosby, Tennessee|Cosby, TN]]<hr /> [[Interstate 40 (Tennessee)|I-40]] near [[Hartford, Tennessee|Hartford, TN]] | {{dts| February 22, 1944}} | Exists in two segments with a spur connecting to US 321 / [[U.S. Route 441 in Tennessee|US 441]] in [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee|Gatlinburg]] and [[Pigeon Forge, Tennessee|Pigeon Forge]]; administered by [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[George Washington Memorial Parkway]] | {{convert|24.9|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[Virginia State Route 235|SR 235]] in [[Mount Vernon, Virginia|Mount Vernon, VA]]<hr /> [[Virginia State Route 400|SR 400]] in [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria, VA]] | SR 400 in Alexandria, VA<hr /> [[Interstate 495 (Virginia)|I-495]] in [[Langley, Virginia|Langley, VA]] | {{dts| May 29, 1930}} | Exists in two segments; the northern one also passes through [[Washington, DC]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway]] | {{convert|27.0|mi|km|disp=table}} | North boundary of [[Grand Teton National Park]] | [[West Thumb Geyser Basin]] in [[Yellowstone National Park]] | {{dts| August 25, 1972}} | Scenic road that connects the two national parks and named for [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]], a conservationist and philanthropist | |- ! scope="row" | [[Natchez Trace Parkway]] | {{convert|444.0|mi|km|disp=table}} | Liberty Road in [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez, MS]] | [[Tennessee State Route 100|SR 100]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville, TN]] | {{dts| May 8, 1938}} | Commemorates the historic [[Natchez Trace|Old Natchez Trace]] and preserves sections of the original trail; also passes through [[Alabama]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway]] | {{convert|2.9|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[Lincoln Memorial]] Circle in the [[National Mall]], [[Washington, DC]] | Shoreham Drive / Beach Drive in [[Rock Creek Park]], Washington, DC | {{dts|1944}} | Part of [[Rock Creek Park]] | |- ! scope="row" | [[Skyline Drive]] | {{convert|105.5|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[U.S. Route 250 in Virginia|US 250]]/Blue Ridge Parkway in [[Rockfish Gap, Virginia|Rockfish Gap, VA]] | [[U.S. Route 340|US 340]] near [[Front Royal, Virginia|Front Royal, VA]] | {{dts|1939}} | Part of the [[Shenandoah National Park]], continues past southern terminus as Blue Ridge Parkway | |- ! scope="row" | [[Suitland Parkway]] | {{convert|9.1|mi|km|disp=table}} | [[Interstate 295 (District of Columbia)|I-295]] / South Capitol Street in [[Washington, DC]] | [[Maryland Route 4 |MD 4]] in [[Forestville, Maryland|Forestville, MD]] | {{dts| December 9, 1944}} | Built to connect military facilities during [[World War II]]; connects to [[Andrews Air Force Base]], administered by [[National Capital Parks-East]] | |} The [[Great River Road]] was originally envisioned as a National Parkway.

==See also== {{Portal|U.S. Roads}} *[[Scenic byways in the United States]] {{-}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Wikivoyage-inline|United States National Parkways}} *[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/transportation/parkways.htm Parkways – Transportation] National Park Service {{Scenic Byways}} {{US Protected Areas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Parkway}} [[Category:Protected areas of the United States]] [[Category:Historic trails and roads in the United States]] [[Category:United States federal parkways|*]]