Photo Blog: Best Of The Blue Ridge And Smoky Mountains : August 11, 2026
Sun Rising Over Blue Ridge Parkway Pano - We right before sunrise to capture the sunrise from the overlook at the Blue Ridge Parkway and captured the sunrise as it broke through the morning haze and fog with some lovely soft pastel colors. The light would change dramatically as the sun rose higher in the sky bringing out the warmer tones in the hazy sky with the wonderful morning fog in the valleys. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors of oranges and yellows and reds with the silhouette of the mountain in the distance. You can see the the colorful fall color in the trees. The best times to capture images of the Blue Ridge is sunrise in our view. It just brings out some stunning colors and you have the wonderful muted colors and the rivers of fog settling in the valley. The Blue Ridge Parkway USA is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia. The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else showcasing the North Carolina mountains. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. This is another capture of our Fine Art of America images of the Blue Ridge Parkway at sunrise. Check out our galleries collections of many more images like this.
Stunning Beauty of the Blue Ridge NC - This stunning pre-sunrise view along the Blue Ridge Parkway feature warm morning light breaking over layered mountain ridges and low-hanging valley fog on this chilly morn. It was almost an abstract with all the soft muted pastel colors that are layered throughout the scene giving this photograph a dreamy appearance. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors of oranges, pinks, yellows, shades of blue and reds along with the silhouette of the mountain in the distance in this a case nature has created its own abstract art in this capture. The fog was so heavy at one point you could not see much, but finally it lifted enough to bring this river of fog into the low lying valleys. This was near the Cowee overlook where we waited for the early morning dawn light and were not disappointed. It was stunning and beautiful and felt that nature was giving us a special show. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors of oranges, pinks, yellows, shades of blue and reds along with the silhouette of the mountain in the distance. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia . The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains.
Pastel Sunrise Over Blue Ridge Parkway - We got here about an hour before sunrise to capture the sunrise over the the overlook at the Blue Ridge Parkway and captured the sunrise as it broke through the morning haze and fog with some lovely soft pastel colors. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia . The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains.
Pastel Sunrise Over Blue Ridge Parkway Pano - We got here about an hour before sunrise to capture the sunrise over the the overlook at the Blue Ridge Parkway and captured the sunrise as it broke through the morning haze and fog with some lovely soft pastel colors in this panorama. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely cool tones in pastel colors. The ridges of the mountains in the distance were mostly silhouetted with a hint of blue and purples and you can see the fog in the valleys below. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia . The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains.
Sunrise Over Blue Ridge Parkway - We got here about an hour before sunrise to capture the sunrise over the the overlook at the Blue Ridge Parkway and captured the sunrise as it broke through the morning haze and fog with some lovely soft pastel colors. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors of oranges and yellows and reds with the silhouette of the mountain in the distance giving it a dreamy appearance. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia . The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains.
Sunrise Over Blue Ridge Parkway Pano - We got here about an hour before sunrise to capture the sunrise over the the overlook at the Blue Ridge Parkway and captured the sunrise as it broke through the morning haze and fog with some lovely soft pastel colors. The light would change dramatically as the sun rose higher in the sky bringing out the warmer tones in the hazy sky with the wonderful morning fog in the valleys. We felt like the image almost look like an abstract painting with these lovely pastel colors of oranges and yellows and reds with the silhouette of the mountain in the distance. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited place in the USA. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia . The parkway offers some exceptional beauty like now where else. It runs mostly along the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains.
Fall Smoky Mountain Scenery Pano - Off the Blue Ridge Parkway you can find some incredible scenery. I can't tell you exactly where I was as we covered over a hundred miles in some days but it was a spectacular site to see. All the scenery was deck out in fall color as their leaves were turning yellow, reds, orange, and rust color it made a spectacular site. I had heard that their wasn't much color this year but we were pleasantly surprise with the fall colors on the hillsides in the Smokies too as this is why I came. These scenic distant view were spectacular to as you see the valleys and hill sides with wonderful colors. Autumn is here and we chased these scenic vista across the Smokies with a surprise around every turn with the light dancing from one hillside to another. You do have to wait for the sun to hit the right spot on the hill sides as the clouds change the scenery every few minutes. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park met my expectations and more I will be back.