Tag Archives: nature

Each spring when the mountains turn green, Gatlinburg celebrates “Going Green” in a big way during the annual Earth Week Celebration held Monday, April 18 to Saturday, April 23, 2016. Gatlinburg dedicates an entire week to celebrate caring for the earth with events designed to share easy green practices through games, crafts and music, opportunities to get outside and maybe even get your ...

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting works by Nelson Ziegler – Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year. The Pilgrimage is a five-day event, April 19-23, 2016 hosted by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event offers 144 professionally guided walks and presentations held in the Park and Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg. The exhibit showcases Ziegler’s ...

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 ...

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains Association has released a list of the 100 most influential individuals in Great Smoky Mountains National Park history, including many who have had a direct impact on Friends of the Smokies. The list was published in a special issue of Great Smoky Mountains Association’s award-winning Smokies Life Magazine, ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that parking passes for shuttle transportation to view the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont will be distributed this year via a lottery system. Since 2006, access to the Elkmont area has been limited to shuttle-service during the eight days of predicted peak activity in order to reduce traffic congestion and provide a safe viewing ...

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 ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in cooperation with the Smoky Mountains Astronomical Society, will offer a 3-hour stargazing program in Cades Cove on Saturday, April 2, 2016 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Experienced astronomers and numerous telescopes will be on hand to provide a discovery of the spring sky’s position of stars, galaxies, and constellations, including the Milky Way. In case ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the spring opening schedule for park facilities for the 2016 season. As part of the schedule, officials also announced the Alum Cave Trail Restoration schedule, which includes a Monday through Thursday closure of Alum Cave Trail and the Mt. Le Conte Backcountry Shelter beginning May 2 through Nov. 17. Due to the construction ...

Viewers from around the world are awaiting the hatch of two eggs in the nest of Bald Eagles named Mr. President and The First Lady. The D.C. Eagle Nest Cam is live streaming the nest of Mr. President and The First Lady as the world watches for two fuzzy eaglets hatched from their eggs. The bonded pair of Bald Eagles ...