North Carolina State Parks: A Niche Guide
Ida Phillips Lynch and Bill Pendergraft


Boasting more than 50 parks and natural and recreation areas, North Carolina’s state park system offers something for everyone. Twelve million people seek sanctuary in the parks’ diverse natural areas every year and learn about cultural and natural history from interpretive rangers. The state’s scenic beauty is reflected in the varied park system holdings, which range from ancient Mount Mitchell to the wind-scoured dunes of Jockey’s Ridge. As new parks are created (such as a new state park under development in Hickory Nut Gorge) and existing parks increase in size, the park system continually offers new opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.

North Carolina State Parks: A Niche Guide connects people to parks and is the essential companion for out-of-state visitors and North Carolinians alike. If you are interested in natural and cultural history, hiking, photography, birding, paddling, camping, or just an outing with the family, the portable full-color guidebook provides key travel information that will make every park visit educational, enjoyable, and safe. Contents include:

1. Overview of the parks’ natural and cultural history
2. Details about recreational opportunities including hiking, fishing, camping, boating, photography, and horseback riding
3. Educational opportunities including interpretive exhibits, field trips, and programs for children and adults
4. Wildlife viewing guide
5. Safety tips
6. Seasonal attractions
7. Key access information
8. Online resources
9. Full-color photographs
   

Building on the superb research of the popular State Parks of North Carolina, written by Walter C. Biggs, Jr. and James F. Parnell and published by John Blair Publisher in 1989, North Carolina State Parks: A Niche Guide offers a user-friendly and colorful update to this earlier publication.

An introduction to North Carolina State Parks
Credit: North Carolina State Parks

About Niche Publishing LLC
Ida Phillips Lynch is an environmental writer and the author of The Duke Forest at 75: A Resource for All Seasons and North Carolina Afield. She is a frequent contributor to Wildlife in North Carolina. The communications coordinator for the Triangle Land Conservancy, Ida was formerly the director of communications for The Nature Conservancy, NC Chapter.
Contact: idalynch@envmedia.com, (919) 618-0631

Writer/producer Bill Pendergraft is the founder of Environmental Media, an 18-year-old company that designs and produces media to support environmental education. The company has written and produced more than 500 award-winning guides, programs, and series including Wild, NC, a 20-program series on North Carolina State Parks for UNC-TV.
Contact: bpendergraft@envmedia.com

1. ISBN 10: 0-9794591-0-9
2. ISBN 13: 978-0-9794591-0-8
3. $14.95 paperback
4. 6 x 9
5. 128 pp.
6. Publication date: October 2007
7. Travel
   

Purchasing Information: North Carolina State Parks: A Niche Guide is distributed to the book trade by John F. Blair, Publisher in Winston-Salem, NC. For more information about the title, please visit http://www.blairpub.com/travel%20titles/northcarolinastateparks.htm.

Please note that the book will be available for purchase through the John Blair website once it is published in October 2007.