Four months of fees: Smokies reports high revenues, compliance following parking fee implementation
When new fees went into effect in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park March 1, park managers were expecting limited revenues and limited compliance during their inaugural year enforcing the Smokies’ first-ever parking fee. But four months in, both metrics are coming in higher than anticipated.
Smokies to reconstruct Lakeview Drive
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is using nearly $19 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act to reconstruct Lakeview Drive in Bryson City and repair Heintooga Ridge Road on the Haywood/Swain county line this summer.
Walker Sisters Cabin reopens
After being closed since late 2021 for renovations, the Walker Sisters Cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is once again open to the public.
Experience history in Cosby
A series of community programs celebrating the natural and cultural history of the Cosby area will be offered Fridays June 23 through July 14 at the Cosby Campground Amphitheater in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Bilingual books on display along Smokies, Gatlinburg trails
Through Aug. 31, three Storybook Trail of the Smokies displays featuring pages in English and Spanish will be open in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nearby Gatlinburg.
Help rehab beloved Smokies trail
Volunteers are needed to help trail crews in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rehabilitate the Ramsey Cascades and Little Cataloochee trails, with work sessions 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through September.
Group size limited at Whiteoak Sink during wildflower season
During the wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which extends through Sunday, May 7, visitors will be limited to groups of eight or fewer people.
Park it Forward: Congress won’t pay for Smokies maintenance backlog — you will
After years of inaction by Congress led to a massive $262 million deferred maintenance backlog in America’s most-visited national park, it will now be up to visitors to pony up their own money to support the park’s most basic staffing and maintenance needs.
Podcasting the park: “Smoky Signal” brings national park science to a new audience
Antoine Fletcher’s love affair with podcasts blossomed back in middle school when he made his first one with his best friend. The project didn’t make them millionaires, but it was “the start of something that was really cool,” Fletcher said.
African American Project lead reflects on 2022, plans for 2023
Who were they? How did they get here? What were their lives like? These are questions that constantly resonate with me when I gaze upon clouds and mountains and dare to consider the 9,000 years of human history that lie untold within this region that we call home.
