Will park development protect a classic climbing crag? Entrance fees and development are coming to Sand Rock, a massive collection of boulders and cliffs in a 200-acre public park in northeast Alabama.  So far, development plans are modest and will not impact the climbing inside the park. According to Scooter Howell, chair of the Cherokee [...]

Two proposed Appalachian highways target the Southeast’s wildest landscapes, and new rail alternatives are headed down the tracks. Is Appalachia on board? West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd—the longest  serving member of Congress—wants to build a highway as his final legacy. Referred to as Corridor H, the four-lane highway would be an extension of I-66, connecting [...]

Exploring the South’s Next Wilderness The farthest you can get from a road in the continental U.S. is 22 miles, in a deep corner of Yellowstone National Park. In the Southeast, the farthest is around five miles—in places like Tennessee’s Upper River Bald Wilderness Study Area. It’s an area so rugged, remote, and rarely traveled [...]

THE FUTURE OF TRANSIT IN THE SOUTHEAST he Southeast is sprawling faster than any region in the history of world civilization, but it also boasts the longest greenway systems, fastest trains, and biggest urban redevelopment projects in the nation. Now more than ever, the country is looking south to see what the future of transit [...]

Four Inspiring Eco-Entrepreneurs From the South Change starts from the ground up. That’s the attitude of these four innovative entrepreneurs who are looking beyond the bottom line to build community. MARK LILLY mobile farmers market If you live in the city gridlock, it’s often hard to make it to the farmer’s market. But if you [...]

Solutions that could actually save the planet BRO asked Pulitzer-Prize-winning authors, CEOs, and leading environmental experts: what is the single most important change needed to protect the planet and its people? Here are their 12 insightful, innovative, and inspiring responses. 1. educate women worldwide The most effective contraceptive is education for girls. When women are [...]

The Mountain Institute helps Appalachian communities climb out of poverty. Life in the mountains is hard. Just ask Otzi the Ice Man, who lived in the Alps some 5,300 years ago. Archaeologists believe that his threadbare clothing and worn-down bones reveal a difficult life scratched out from a severe, high altitude landscape. Even today, mountain [...]

Bicycle commuters who get to work without the gas. n the car-clogged United States, cities have been designed to accommodate motor vehicles, with most other forms of transit pushed to the shoulder. But that hasn’t stopped one Asheville cyclist from following a 100% pedal-powered lifestyle.  Tavis Cummings grew up outside of a small town in [...]

Whether you’re heading to Bonnaroo or a backyard crafts fair, having the right gear can make or break your festival experience. Alite Designs Monarch Chair Take this chair from tent city to the main stage with no hassle. The Monarch has an extremely innovative two-leg design that weighs only a pound and packs down to [...]

Pack your gear, load the iPod with summer anthems, and don’t forget the tickets. It’s time to head for the region’s best fests—and top outdoor adventure spots along the way. DelFest May 27-30, Cumberland, Md. delfest.com It’s become the East Coast’s answer to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and despite last year’s massive storm that sent [...]

Canopy Tours Stretch Across the Southeast Zipline canopy tours are popping up across the Southeast, but the new canopy tour at Class VI Adventures in the New River Gorge pushes more than just adrenaline. The mile-long tour, consisting of 10 zip lines and five cable bridges, explores an old growth hemlock forest, with some trees [...]

Here is your definitive guide to festival fun: the 50 best bashes in the Blue Ridge. French Broad River Festival April 30 – May 2  Asheville, N.C. Spend the day on the river and then kick back to some great live tunes from James McMurtry, Snake Oil Medicine Show, The Blue Rags, and more. frenchbroadriverfestival.com [...]

Forget the emotional, mental, and physical strength it takes to tackle 2,175 miles of hiking—even if we were strong enough to tackle such an endeavor, who has the time? But just about everybody has the time for a section hike, whether it’s a brief one-day getaway, a weekend jaunt, or a week-long excursion. The following [...]

Second A.T. Thru-Hiker Gene Espy Recalls 1951 Trek 82-year old Gene Espy is recognized as the second person ever to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. In 1951, at the age of 24, Espy hiked from Georgia to Maine, taking four months to complete the 2,000-mile journey. Espy recently wrote The Trail of My Life, a book [...]

A.T. Physical Exam Four-Year Study to Assess A.T. Health A hefty $1.15 million grant from NASA was recently awarded to examine the Appalachian Trail’s entire ecosystem. University of Rhode Island Professor Yeqiao Wang estimates the project will take four years as he uses a combination of satellite imagery and on-the-ground field observation to monitor the [...]