Tag Archives: hiking

In honor of the National Park Service Centennial, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge, and Great Smoky Mountains Association partnered together to provide the popular “Day Hikes of the Smokies” guide book to all 4th grade students in Sevier County. This generous donation, made possible by Leconte Lodge, is in recognition of the National Park Service’s Every Kid a ...

DNA results show a bear euthanized by Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff was not responsible for the bear attack near Spence Field Backcountry Shelter. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials received results of DNA analyses comparing samples from bears found near the Spence Field Backcountry Shelter area where a bear attack occurred on May 10, 2016 involving a 49-year ...

Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge celebrates spring by offering free classes, seminars, events, exhibits and excursions. Pigeon Forge, a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has a new way to celebrate spring. It’s a five-day event saluting the national park, Mother Nature and the culture of the southern Appalachians. It’s Wilderness Wildlife Week from May 18-22, 2016 and it’s new ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials closed the Spence Field Backcountry Shelter after 49-year-old Bradley Veeder of Las Vegas was bitten by a bear while sleeping in his tent near the shelter. On Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at approximately 11:16 p.m., the park was notified through Graham County 911 services that Veeder, an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, was bitten by a ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the temporary closure of the Abrams Creek entrance road due to damage caused by an uprooted tree. Approximately 20 linear feet of the Abrams Creek entrance road is partially washed out to a depth of over 3 feet. Park maintenance crews plan to repair the roadway by Wednesday, April 27, 2016. Trails remain ...

An 8,600 square foot structure associated with the former Wonderland Hotel in the Elkmont area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park burned to the ground on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The fire was reported by a park visitor at approximately 7:15 a.m. The park fire management crew and Gatlinburg Fire Department responded to the area. The Wonderland Hotel Annex was ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park fire management officials will be conducting a 600-acre prescribed burn in the Canadian Top project area adjacent to Cataloochee Valley in North Carolina. Weather permitting, burn operations will begin on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Crews should be able to complete the burn on Saturday. Smoke, however, may be present in the area through Sunday. The ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials will reopen the Whiteoak Sink area with limited access effective April 1 through May 15, 2016 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 ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced plans to open Clingmans Dome Road this weekend beginning Saturday, March 26, 2016 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 ...

UPDATE: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Piedmont Zone fire staff have rescheduled a prescribed burn for March 30th, 2016. Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Piedmont Zone fire management staff plan to conduct a prescribed burn on approximately 888-acres of forested area northwest of Cades Cove beginning on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The Stony-Arbutus Ridge fire ...