Tag Archives: hiking

Search teams are looking for a man last seen on Monday when he fell into the water at Midnight Hole along the Big Creek Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials and multiple emergency response agencies from Haywood County, N.C. are currently searching for 25-year-old male, Yogesh Patel, of Oak Forest, IL. Patel was ...

Rangers euthanized a bear Saturday after it was found scavenging the body of a hiker near a backcountry campsite in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to park spokesperson Jamie Sanders, hikers found an unoccupied tent at campsite 82 during the afternoon of September 11, 2020. The hikers subsequently discovered what appeared to be human remains across the creek ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking public input on a proposed mountain bike trail system on the unfinished section of the Foothills Parkway corridor in Wears Valley, TN. The park is initiating an environmental assessment and 30-day public scoping period in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act. The proposed mountain bike trail system ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that some campgrounds, visitor centers, and additional roads will be accessible to visitors as part of the current phase in the park’s plan to restore public access across the park. Beginning on Monday, June 8, the following areas will be accessible:  Cades Cove and Smokemont CampgroundsAnthony Creek Horse CampSugarlands, Oconaluftee, Cades Cove, and ...

Great Smoky National Park is closing all public access to slow spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, after experiencing a surge of visitors that defied previous park efforts to reduce congestion and crowds within the park to comply with health official’s guidance for social distancing. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that all park areas, except the Foothills Parkway and ...

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 is hosting a Cades Cove Stargazing Event on Saturday. Park rangers invite the public to escape the city lights and observe the natural night sky for an evening of viewing stars with equipment and instruction provided by the Smoky Mountain Astronomical Society. Depending on visibility, visitors will experience close-up observations of the planet Jupiter and ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the main access roads into Cades Cove and Cataloochee will be closed for several months this winter for road construction projects.      The main access road into Cataloochee, Cove Creek Road, is expected to be closed from November 1 through February 29, 2020 for roadwork while the North Carolina Department of Transportation ...

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 ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers continue to search for 58-year-old Kevin Mark Lynch who went missing in Smoky Mountains on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Lynch was reportedly last seen walking along the boundary of the park at The Swag resort in Haywood County, N.C. near the Cataloochee Divide Trail. Kevin Mark Lynch This photo was taken of Kevin Mark ...