Humpback Gap and Trail: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Blue Ridge Parkway
Regions 1, 2, & 4 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2013. Humpback Gap and Trail: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Blue Ridge Parkway. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 975978. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The Humpback Rocks developed area is one of eight recreation areas spaced along the Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that contain larger land areas to accommodate motorist needs, interpretive programming, and recreational opportunities. Humpback Rocks is the northernmost of these recreation areas, and was sited on the landscape around the dramatic geologic formation that had served as a local landmark for more than a century. Thus the Humpback Rocks developed area is the first such facility encountered by motorists traveling south from milepost 1 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Extending southeast from the Mountain Farm and located at milepost 6 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Humpback Rocks Gap and Trail component landscape is one of four component landscapes of the developed area. Primary construction to place circa 1941-1943, along with initial Blue Ridge Parkway construction. The area encompasses a parking lot edged by a picnic table, the trailhead to the Humpback Rocks Trail, a spur trail leading to the Appalachian Trail, the trailhead for the Jack Albright Loop Trail, and a fenced hay meadow between the site and the parkway. A kiosk placed at the trailhead provides orientation for visitors. The trail offers a strenuous climb to the summit of Humpback Rocks, which affords a scenic view to the Shenandoah and Rockfish Valleys. The popular trail experiences heavy visitation throughout the year. This component landscape is bounded by the Mountain Farm on the northwest and by the Blue Ridge Parkway to the west. The Howardsville Turnpike road trace also extends through the character area nearby. This component landscape is significant under Criteria A, and C. The period of significance identified for the parent landscape—Humpback Rocks developed area—is 1939–1965, which encompasses initial parkway construction through completion of proposed developments consistent with early master plans for the site. Parkway design principles are conveyed throughout the developed area, including the Humpback Gap and Trail component landscape, tying it to the broader 469-mile linear historic landscape. In addition, Humpback Rocks affords several of the key components that early designers considered important for motorists to experience when traveling the corridor, including opportunities for visitors to connect more deeply with the region through recreation and education, picnicking, and other amenities.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 1, 2, & 4 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2013-01-09
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- BLRI , SER
- Keywords
- agriculture, Appalachian Trail, conservation, engineering, historic designed landscape, Humpback Rocks Developed Area, landscape architecture, master planning, mission 66, parkway development, recreation, rustic architecture, tourism, trail, transportation, Virginia