Tag Archives: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The park announced it would stop taking reservations for certain facilities and modify policies for campground and backcountry campers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to take steps to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and local and state authorities to promote social distancing during the ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove Visitor Centers are closed until further notice as a safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and recommendations from state and local public health in consultation with NPS Public Health Service officers, these facilities are closed for the ...

Cades Cove biking enthusiasts could see a big change as park officials propose closing Cades Cove Loop Road to motorists all day on Wednesdays and opening Saturday morning access. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials invite the public to comment through Friday, March 27, 2020 on a proposed change in vehicle-free access days on the Cades Cove Loop Road. For ...

A young woman died after falling out the window of a moving vehicle on the Foothills Parkway on Tuesday. Park rangers from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park responded to reports of an accident near mile marker 13 of the Foothills Parkway, between Chilhowee Lake and Look Rock, at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Deputies from the ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that Cades Cove reopens on Saturday following a two-month closure for tunnel repairs. Bryant’s Land and Development Industries Inc. of Burnsville, NC finished the $950,000 Bote Mountain Tunnel repair along Laurel Creek Road ahead of schedule, allowing the popular area to reopen February 29, 2020 in time for the first full weekend of ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is experiencing high winds and announced road closures ahead of a cold front that is expected to move through the area later today. Newfound Gap Road (Hwy 441 from Gatlinburg, Tenn. to Cherokee, N.C.), Little River Road from the Townsend Wye to the Sugarlands Visitor Center, Wears Gap and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail ...

Park officials warned campers and backpackers in the Smoky Mountains backcountry that campfires are temporarily banned and spring water sources dry due to drought conditions. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced a temporary ban on backcountry campfires effective immediately. Due to abnormally dry weather conditions, the potential for wildfires to occur in the backcountry has dramatically increased. The fire ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual Mountain Life Festival near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the Mountain Farm Museum on Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience traditional fall harvest activities on the farm including hearth cooking, apple butter making, blacksmithing, lye soap making, and food preservation. ...

Crews are still working to clear the Spur (U.S. 441) between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge after heavy rains caused rockslides, fallen trees and a fatal single-vehicle accident. At about 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2019, the northern area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg experienced extremely heavy rainfall causing multiple small rockslides, downed trees, and flash flooding ...

After spending four nights lost in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kevin Mark Lynch was found alive by searchers on Wednesday. About 60 agencies participated in the massive search operation, including many from Sevier County. At approximately 4:25 p.m. on July 31, 2019 searchers discovered Lynch, alert and responsive, in the southeast area of the park near ...