North Carolina is a traveler’s dream, from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks’ historic lighthouses, wild horses, and charming fishing villages; from battlegrounds of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the “heart of motorsports”; from rolling wine country and golf courses to stately plantations and rustic settlements. Whether you travel North Carolina for its historic treasures or natural beauty, this handy guide will help you find the Old North State’s most spectacular sites and secret treasures. The book charts weekend adventures and day trips along back roads and scenic routes, into the state’s many mist-shrouded mountains--the Black, the Blue Ridge, and the Great Smokies--and down to its ever-changing shores. Sumptuously illustrated, with maps and all manner of interesting detail, Backroads of North Carolina is a page-by-page pleasure, as well as a passport to the more off-beat delights of the Tar Heel State.

A photographic odyssey through South Carolina presents travelers with more than thirty drives through the scenic wonders, natural beauty, and rich historical heritage of the state, from seventeenth-century colonial settlements and Fort Sumter to the Atlantic coastal lowlands and Blue Ridge Mountains. Original.

Washington is a magnificent state criss-crossed with beckoning backroads, all waiting to be explored. Join us on a tour of thirty of Washington's most scenic drives, taking you from Puget Sound's marine parks to the many recreational opportunities and vineyards along the Columbia River; from the temperate rainforests and giant trees of the Olympic Peninsula to the live volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains and the miles of wheat in the dry lands. "Backroads of Washington"-written and photographed by local experts-takes you on routes that lead to the area's most secluded and overlooked natural areas and to sites that capture the state's colorful history. Whether you're planning a day trip, looking for unusual destinations, or simply want to learn more about the locale, "Backroads of Washington" will lead you deep into the soul of Washington-beyond the bustling cities and common tourist attractions. About the Author/Photographer: Diana Fairbanks is a native Washingtonian who teaches at Kirkland Art Center and exhibits paintings, drawings, and prints in the Pacific Northwest. She has been awarded grants for creative projects for the city of Seattle. For more than thirty years, Seattle-based photographer/designer Mike Sedam has traveled and photographed the world. Sedam has published six other books, including Voyageur Press's "Olympic Peninsula" and "Our Seattle".

Celebrating the beauty, diversity, and significance of the state's natural landscapes, Wild North Carolina provides an engaging, beautifully illustrated introduction to North Carolina's interconnected webs of plant and animal life. From dunes and marshes to high mountain crags, through forests, swamps, savannas, ponds, pocosins, and flatrocks, David Blevins and Michael Schafale reveal in words and photographs natural patterns of the landscape that will help readers see familiar places in a new way and new places with a sense of familiarity. Wild North Carolina introduces the full range of the state's diverse natural communities, each brought to life with compelling accounts of their significance and meaning, arresting photographs featuring broad vistas and close-ups, and details on where to go to experience them first hand. Blevins and Schafale provide nature enthusiasts of all levels with the insights they need to value the state's natural diversity, highlighting the reasons plants and animals are found where they are, as well as the challenges of conserving these special places.

The perfect guide for day-trippers looking for unusual destinations, "Backroads of Southern California" also pays tribute to the area for those exploring these backroads from their armchairs. Covering nearly all of California's superlative natural locations, a local expert leads readers on 30 drives to the most scenic natural areas and sites that capture the region's colorful history. 140 photos, 120 in full color.

Now in its fourth edition, Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads has long been the go-to guide for folks seeking the unspoiled landscape and little-known cultural attractions of Western North Carolina. This is a guide for those who want to travel the mountains of western North Carolina, who want to see the scenery but escape the crowds. The book's 21 tours cover the entire mountain region of western North Carolina and provide numerous opportunities for seeing unspoiled landscapes and pastoral scenes. But scenery is not the only focus. Once you're on the backroads, you might speculate about the history behind the old white clapboard farmhouse that dominates the valley ahead, or you might wonder about the rest of the story behind the two sentences on the historical marker at the side of the road. Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads fills in those details. Drawing from local histories and early travel writings, each tour is designed to be a journey through the history of the area. Tales of eccentric characters, folklore that has been passed down through the ages, and stories about Native Americans and early white settlers combine to present a perspective that makes the scenery come alive. This edition features updated directions, additional sites, new photographs, and nearby recreational opportunities. Use this guidebook to plan a day trip, weekend getaway, or cycling adventure.