Introduction: A new trip along a beloved road
Roads, parks, and tourism: a southern scenic parkway in a national context
The scenic is political: the parkway and Ashville's tourism industry
We ain't picked none on the scenic: parkway ideals and local realities
By the grace of God and a Mitchell County jury: Little Switzerland, regional tourism, and the parkway
The crowning tourch of interest: parkway development, cultural landscaping, and the eastern band of Cherokees
Remembering the Peaks of Otter: telling history on the parkway landscape
From stump town to Carolina's top scenic attraction: private interests and the public good at Grandfather Mountain
Epilogue: The parkway's past, its present, and the ongoing search for the public good.