GSMNP Superintendent talks visitation, parking tag program
Great Smokies Mountain National Park has seen new changes in recent years, from soaring record attendance placing it head and shoulders above the field for the most visited national park to a first-of-its-kind parking tag program designed to generate revenue while also protecting visitors and natural resources that has generated the ire of some surrounding communities.
GSMNP to improve Gatlinburg entrance
Great Smoky Mountains National Park received approximately $11 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund to rehabilitate a two-mile section of Newfound Gap Road near Gatlinburg. The rehabilitation project will include single-lane closures.
American Sign Language Day programs offered at Cades Cove
Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s “Signs of Spring” event celebrating National American Sign Language Day will be back for the second year in Cades Cove on Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Parking fees generate $10 million
In the first year since Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched the Park it Forward program, the fee has generated over $10 million in revenue, which includes parking tag sales and camping fees.
Lakeview Drive road project to conclude
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with funding from the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund, will finish the approximate $15.7 million repair and rehabilitation of Lakeview Drive that started last year.
Word from the Smokies: 'Gradient of spring' offers opportunity for exploration
By the third week of April, spring is in full bloom throughout the picturesque valleys of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Group limits for Whiteoak Sink
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced group size limits for the popular wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink.
Hike the Smokies with Haywood Waterways
Haywood Waterways Association will lead two hikes to Mouse Falls in the Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Tuesday, April 9, and Saturday, April 13.
Prescribed burns scheduled for Cataloochee
Officials plan to burn approximately 96 acres in Cataloochee Valley at Great Smoky Mountains National Park this week. Weather permitting, burn operations may begin as early as Tuesday, March 12.
Smokies see increased visitation
Last week, the National Park Service announced that 400 national parks reported a total of 325.5 million visits in 2023, an increase of 13 million or 4% over 2022.
