Tag Archives: Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rangers temporarily closed park roads for two serious motorcycle accidents on Sunday evening, September 17, 2017. At approximately 6:20 p.m., a single motorcycle accident was reported along the Foothills Parkway West between mile marker 7 and 8. An adult male rider was transported by Lifestar to the University of Tennessee Medical Center just before 7:30 ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials closed Newfound Gap Road and Little River Road on Monday, September 11, 2017 at 5 p.m. due to high winds moving through the area associated with Hurricane Irma. The park has experienced rain and strong winds across ridges of the higher elevations throughout the day. Newfound Gap Road runs between Gatlinburg, Tenn. and Cherokee, ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials continue preparations for Hurricane Irma and will be enacting road and facility closures beginning Saturday. Predications from the National Weather Service indicate Irma will be a tropical depression rated-storm when she reaches the Smokies beginning as early as Monday morning. Officials anticipate sustained winds of 30-50 mph with higher gusts throughout Monday and into ...

The annual Mountain Life Festival at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is scheduled for Saturday, September 16, 2017. This event continues to preserve the legacy of Appalachian folkways and is a tribute to the many families who lived on lands that would later become the national park. The event hours are from 10 a.m. to ...

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued an independent review of the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that burned 11,410 acres in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in November 2016 and merged with other area fires, which caused 14 deaths and millions of dollars in damage in the Gatlinburg area. The report outlines the origins and growth of ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the Clingmans Dome Observation Tower will be closed beginning Wednesday, August 23 through the remainder of the 2017 season to complete rehabilitation work thanks to funding received from a Partners in Preservation (PIP) grant. The $ 250,000 grant was awarded last summer to the Friends of the Smokies on behalf of the ...

UPDATED Tuesday, August 22 – After eleven days missing, 18-year-old Austin Bohanan walked out of the remote backcountry area near Panther Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park at about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Bohanan was last seen Friday, August 11 while hiking off-trail in a remote area of the park and was reported missing on Sunday, August 13. Search ...

The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB) is investigating a hit and run accident that occurred at approximately 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 29, 2017 along Little River Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A motorcyclist fled the scene after striking and seriously injuring a 13-year-old, female pedestrian at a pulloff between the Townsend Wye and the Sinks. ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are excited to announce a new opportunity for the public to participate in service projects across the park. Park staff coordinated Smokies Service Days on Saturdays through October 28, 2017. Individuals and groups are invited to sign up for any of the scheduled service projects that interest them including unique opportunities to help care ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are reminding visitors that Clingmans Dome Road will be closed to all access beginning at 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 19 through the evening of Monday, August 21, 2017 for a special ticketed event viewing the Great American Eclipse. No overnight parking will be allowed at Clingmans Dome Parking Area or pull-offs, parking areas, ...