Blue Ridge Parkway fans in Virginia can preorder a new specialty license plate to support enhancement projects and outreach and educational programs within the country’s most visited national park unit.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation specialty license plate fee for vehicles or motorcycles is $25 annually for a standard plate and $35 annually for a personalized plate. A portion of proceeds from each sale will support the nonprofit’s mission to protect and preserve the 469-mile scenic route. The Foundation also offers a North Carolina specialty license plate to benefit the Parkway.
“North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway plate provides more than half a million dollars each year for Parkway improvements, programs, and renovations,” said Roanoke attorney Broaddus Fitzpatrick, a former chair of the Foundation’s board of trustees. “Virginia has a chance to catch up in funding with the proposed new plate.”
The Foundation must secure 450 preorder applications for the plate to become an official offering of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
“No other specialty plate in Virginia provides dedicated funding for the Parkway,” said retired journalist Jack Betts of Meadows of Dan, also a former board chair. “This new plate is gorgeous and would give Virginians across the commonwealth a way to make an annual impact on what many call ‘America’s Favorite Drive.’”
The proposed plate features a scene of the motor road winding through a nature setting with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.
Each year, the Blue Ridge Parkway welcomes more visitors than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite national parks combined. In 2020, more than 14 million people explored the Parkway. Yet without entrance fees, it receives a fraction of the funding of other parks. Through contributions to the Foundation, individual donors provide much-needed financial support for natural resource protection, enhanced visitor amenities, historical and cultural preservation, and education and outreach programs.
“I am thrilled that we can offer this new and easy way for Virginians to support and share their love for the Blue Ridge Parkway,” said Foundation CEO Carolyn Ward, a native of Southwest Virginia.
As the nonprofit fundraising partner of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Foundation has contributed $18 million for projects and programs in the park since its start in 1997. Past donor-funded projects in Virginia include the rehabilitation of historical Mabry Mill and Humpback Rocks Farm, creation of the Parkway’s first ADA-compliant trail at the Peaks of Otter, a survey of biological diversity at Rock Castle Gorge, and ongoing programming at the Blue Ridge Music Center.
To preorder the plate, visit GetThePlate.org.
