ScenicByways：风景道

Scenic Byways
America’s most cherished scenic routes have been designated Scenic Byways and the Capital Region boasts no less than seven. On your next visit, follow one or more of these storied routes and embark on an unforgettable journey.
Maryland
The Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway provides a relaxing drive through some of Maryland’s most spectacular natural beauty. The 60km (38 mile) route between Point of Rocks and Emmitsburg is high on historic appeal and picturesque delights. It’s the gateway to sites spanning early industrial history to the Civil War. Natural highlights include Cunningham Falls, a 78ft waterfall cascading into a rocky gorge, and Fountain Rock Park, one of Maryland’s most important Native American habitation sites with archaeological evidence dating back to about 1,000 A.D. Also look out for the distinctive Roddy Road Covered Bridge.
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Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway celebrates the rich marine life of the area, both on land and sea. Nowhere along this 137km (85 mile) route is the visitor far from the tributaries that feed the mighty Chesapeake Bay. Watch fishermen bringing their bounty to shore and experience the unhurried way of life in communities that have fished, farmed and traded on the land for hundreds of years. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars as the route is situated along the Atlantic Fly-Way, a protected wildlife area that’s a major feeding and resting site for migratory birds.
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The Historic National Road across six states was the first federally funded interstate highway and the road that ‘built the nation’, opening the country to the west. The 273km (170 mile) Maryland section covers more than 300 years of history including the state’s only remaining tol l house at Lavale and the Western Maryland Station Center, which explores the area’s transport heritage of canal s that were later eclipsed by the railway. Steam buffs will want to stop at Baltimore’s B&O Railroad Museum, birthplace of the American railway.
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Before the Civil War many enslaved African Americans fled to freedom in the North through Maryland. The so-called Underground Railroad was the name given to the secret network of roads, waterways, trails and hiding places that took them to freedom. Former slave Harriet Tubman was the most famous ‘conductor’ on the Underground Railroad and returned many times to help others flee from bondage. Today visitors can follow in her footsteps along the 201km (125 mile) Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad byway, traversing rural areas, marshes and small towns across Maryland’s Eastern Shore that combine to tell the story of her remarkable life and accomplishments.
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Virginia
Opened in 1934, the Blue Ridge Parkway was America’s first rural parkway, following the line of the famous mountains of the same name. The 349km (217 mile) Virginia section provides spectacular mountain scenery, a riot of spring and summer colour and lush valley vistas. It’s a stone’s throw from Crabtree Falls, the largest vertical drop waterfalls east of the Mississippi that tumble a total of 365m (1,200ft). Some of Virginia’s best wineries can also be found a short distance from the parkway. Roanoke, known as the capital of the Blue Ridge, was a crossroads for commerce and has a history stretching back to the 1740s.
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Journey through 167 years of the English colonial experience on the Colonial Parkway that links the outstanding historic sites of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. Jamestown is the birthplace of English speaking America, Williamsburg is a quaint living history museum and, more recently, a lively university town and Yorktown is where the colonists won their last major battle for independence. When it’s time to move back to modern times enjoy the thrills of the coasters at nearby Busch Gardens or make a splash at Water Country USA.
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The George Washington Memorial Parkway is the grand gateway and greenway to the nation’s capital. A memorial to the country’s first president, the 40km (25 mile) route is also known as Washington Street as it travels through historic Alexandria. See Mount Vernon, where George Washington lived and enjoy sweeping views of the Washington, DC skyline and breathtaking Great Falls of the Potomac. The parkway passes monuments and memorials, wildlife preserves and historic homes. Unmissable photo opportunities include the world famous statue of WWII marines raising the flag on the island of Iwo Jima and the cobbled streets of the 18th century seaport of Alexandria.
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For more than 70 years the Skyline Drive has offered travellers the chance to view several of the most scenic vistas in the eastern United States. The 169km (105 mile) byway combines the legendary Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with the beautiful green Shenandoah Valley and the rolling Piedmont Plateau. There are miles of hiking trails and countless opportunites for wildlife spotting and bird watching. A short walk will take visitors to Dark Hollow Falls, the closest waterfall to the drive, and below ground Luray boasts some of the most magnificent caverns in this corner of America. /site/features.asp?featureid=419。