Great Smoky Mountains National Park joins parks, programs and partners across the country to encourage everyone to find their park and share their stories online at FindYourPark.com. Launched Monday by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, Find Your Park is a public awareness and education campaign celebrating the milestone centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in ...
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Two Hikers Rescued from Great Smoky Mountains National Park Backcountry
Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers and members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations and Aviation Section rescued two individuals from the park’s backcountry near the Spence Field Shelter on Saturday. At 6:10 a.m. park dispatch received a call from an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker advising of a pair of hikers in distress near Spence Field Shelter. The hikers, a father and son, ...
Read More »Volunteers Needed for Alum Cave Trail Rehabilitation
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to assist a Trails Forever trail crew on rehabilitation projects on the Alum Cave Trail every Wednesday from May 20th through October 28th, 2015. The Trails Forever program provides opportunities for both skilled and non-skilled volunteers to work along-side national park crews to complete various trail projects. Trail volunteers perform a wide ...
Read More »FBI Investigating Man Found Dead in Smokemont Baptist Church in the Smokies
A man was found dead inside the historic Smokemont Baptist Church in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Park Service are investigating the death of a man whose body was discovered in the Smokemont Baptist Church on March 29, 2015 as a homicide. Smokemont Baptist Church, also known ...
Read More »Park Reopens Whiteoak Sink Area to Public, Continues Monitoring of Bats
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have reopened the Whiteoak Sink area with limited access effective April 1 through May 15 to limit human disturbance in critical bat habitat and help hikers avoid interactions with bats. Park biologists will continue monitoring bat populations near the site as they emerge from winter hibernacula to collect population, ecological and behavioral data that ...
Read More »Students Arrested in Seymour School Burglaries
Police have arrested four students in connection with burglaries at two Seymour schools. The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office announced that four students are facing two counts of burglary and criminal trespassing after two Seymour schools were burglarized in the early morning hours on Sunday, March 29, 2015. According to Sevier County Sheriff Ron Seals, his office received a call at ...
Read More »Expect Delays During Newfound Gap Road Improvement Project
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that a project to repave 4.3 miles of Newfound Gap Road will begin on April 13, 2015. This work is part of a multi-phased rehabilitation project started in 2007. The section to be resurfaced extends from Sugarlands Visitor Center south to Chimney’s Picnic Area where the last phase ended. This section of Newfound ...
Read More »Spring Alive Dinner Event to Raise Money for Relay For Life
A Relay For Life fundraising dinner will be held Monday in Sevierville. Come celebrate spring with great food, good fellowship, and a visit with the Easter Bunny. The Smoky Mountain Cancer Support Group invites the public to attend the Spring Alive Dinner on Monday, March 30, 2015 at the Fort Sanders Sevier Senior Center in Sevierville. The event starts at ...
Read More »Clingmans Dome Road to Open Early
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced plans to open Clingmans Dome Road this weekend beginning Friday, March 27, 2015 as weather permits. Due to mild temperatures this week, park crews have been able to prepare the road and facilities for the seasonal spring opening ahead of schedule allowing additional opportunities for visitors to reach the popular destination. Accessible by ...
Read More »Great Smoky Mountains National Park Plans Controlled Burn in Cades Cove
Great Smoky Mountains National Park fire management officials plan to conduct a controlled burn of an 80-acre field east of Hyatt Lane in Cades Cove. Weather permitting, burn operations will occur on Wednesday, March 25. The selected field will be burned as part of a cost-effective strategy to prevent the open fields from being reclaimed by forest. These seasonal controlled ...
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