View source for 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=<!--Just need to insert the total of the parkways here-->
|length_ref=
|interstate=Interstate nn (I-nn)
|us=U.S. Highway nn, U.S. Route nn (US nn)
|statehwy= Varies by state
|formed=<!--{{start date|YYYY}}-->
|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==
<!--- This section was moved from the "Scenic route" article's United States section --->
===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]]&nbsp;/ [[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&nbsp;441]] in [[Swain County, North Carolina|Swain County, NC]]
|  [[U.S. Route 250 in Virginia|US&nbsp;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}}<!--decimal place padded for consistency. please update if a more precise length is obtained.-->
| [[Historic Jamestowne]] in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown, VA]]
|  SR&nbsp;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&nbsp;129]] in [[Chilhowee, Tennessee| Chilhowee, TN]]<hr /> [[U.S. Route 321 in Tennessee|US&nbsp;321]] near [[Walland, Tennessee|Walland, TN]]
|US&nbsp;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&nbsp;321&nbsp;/ [[U.S. Route 441 in Tennessee|US&nbsp;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&nbsp;235]] in [[Mount Vernon, Virginia|Mount Vernon, VA]]<hr /> [[Virginia State Route 400|SR&nbsp;400]] in [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria, VA]]
| SR&nbsp;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}}<!--decimal place padded for consistency. please update if a more precise length is obtained.-->
| 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}}<!--decimal place padded for consistency. please update if a more precise length is obtained.-->
| Liberty Road in [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez, MS]]
|  [[Tennessee State Route 100|SR&nbsp;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&nbsp;250]]/Blue Ridge Parkway in [[Rockfish Gap, Virginia|Rockfish Gap, VA]] 
|  [[U.S. Route 340|US&nbsp;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]]&nbsp;/ 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|*]]