About

Welcome to Blue Ridge Online, here you will find the place to enjoy a day, a weekend, a dream vacation or a retirement home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Somewhere among the hills and hollows of these gloriously picturesque old mountains, is a place where you'll find memories to last a lifetime and your journey starts here.

Settle back, take a deep breath and relax; its time to take a "desktop vacation" while exploring Blue Ridge Online; the Internet's premier welcome center for the eastern mountains of the United States.

Blue Ridge Online started on July 11, 1996, but even before that we were welcoming visitors to the Blue Ridge Mountains via The Mountain Laurel, a small monthly magazine about mountain history and culture. The Mountain Laurel was started by my mom, Charlotte Heafner, my dad, Bob Heafner and their partner Susan Thigpen. I grew up with family evening drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway and playing with my sisters in the creeks and meadows in and around Meadows of Dan, Virginia.

The beauty of the Blue Ridge was a part of my childhood and life that I will forever cherish and never tire of.My dad was always active in trying to help local businesses get out the word about the mountains and what a great vacation getaway they are; he served on the board and co-founded several tourism organizations. Blue Ridge Online is a direct result of his love of the Blue Ridge; a love I share. When the Internet came along he realized the potential for introducing visitors to fun and relaxation in the Blue Ridge and at the same time providing an inexpensive venue for mountain businesses, large and small, to introduce themselves.In the 1990s, I took over the company but still had a "day job" until January, 2004, when Blue Ridge Online became my fulltime job. We have grown to be the largest, most visited, website on the Internet, devoted to providing information about things to do, places to see and great places to stay throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The pages of this website are more than my job; they are truly a labor of love for a place that can capture your heart and imagination with its charm and beauty and friendly people.

Blue Ridge Online is rolling out the welcome mat; come on up,
William A. (Billy) Heafner

Blue Ridge Online offers Basic Listings and Featured Listings along with printable brochures that are both environmentally friendly and economical. Our most popular question “are the basic listings really free, if so why?” Yes they are free for the life of your website no catches, no gimmicks, no hidden fees yours to keep. Why, it gives our website volume, content that could not be achieved otherwise, it also gives those with little or no budget an opportunity to attract business and, the basic listings that do receive responses are more than likely to upgrade in the future.  

Featured listings are $140.00 per year and generally receive 60% more responses from our website visitors than basic listings. We have and are in the process of upgrading all featured listings to include a stand alone page for each advertiser, 500 words to describe their business, 4 photos, 1 logo, 1 map, link to website, e-mail and contact information. This will give our visitors more detailed information about your company and increase your search engine presence as well. You can view an example of one of these pages at the following web address:http://www.blueridgeonline.com/Advertisers/NorthCarolina/ValleCrucis_htm_files/ValleCrucis.htm

Green Brochures! Over 80 companies have joined with Blue Ridge Online to provide visitors with immediate access to their brochures in an environmentally friendly way. Click the link below to see all of the companies supporting this effort and their Green Brochures.