Smokies Closing Balsam Mountain Road for Maintenance

Great Smoky Mountains National Park maintenance crews will perform road maintenance along the gravel Balsam Mountain Road on Monday, June 27; Wednesday, June 29; and Wednesday, July 6, 2016 from 6–11:00 a.m. each morning. The work will require a full road closure during these time periods to allow crews to place new gravel on the roadway.

The one-way, 15-mile Balsam Mountain Road is located in the southeast area of the park accessed from the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The road runs between the Balsam Mountain Campground/Picnic Area and Straight Fork Road near Cherokee, N.C. The closure will not affect use of Balsam Mountain Campground/Picnic Area or the Round Bottom Horse Camp located on Straight Fork Road.

Hikers using the Spruce Mountain Trail, Palmer Creek Trail, and Balsam Mountain Trail will not be able to begin or end their hikes from Balsam Mountain Road during the morning closures. However, these trails can be accessed in other areas of the park.

For more information about road conditions and temporary closures, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm.