When visitors come to explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park, they have access to a wealth of knowledge highlighting the diversity of plants, animals, and ecosystems found in this special place. Among them are lichens — a lesser-known group of species whose members were largely undiscovered as recently as two decades ago. Since then, the Smokies have grown into a hub of lichen discovery and documentation, with the number of species in the park nearly tripling from 340 to 965.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking individuals to join the Elk Rover volunteer team for the upcoming 2025 season. Elk Rovers share information with visitors about safe wildlife viewing and help keep elk and visitors safe. Elk Rovers will be stationed at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Volunteer duties include: 

• Standing and walking for extended periods. 
• Assisting with traffic management along US 441/Newfound Gap Road. 
• Assisting and guiding visitors. 
• Educating visitors about wildlife safety and etiquette. 
• Answering general questions about the park.

Interested volunteers should commit to one, four-hour afternoon shift per week on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday starting in July and continuing through mid-November. 

All new Elk Rovers are required to attend a mandatory in-person training session in July. Additionally, volunteers will have the opportunity to learn alongside a dedicated team of experienced rovers and park rangers who will provide on-the-job training.

Learn more at nps.gov/grsm/getinvolved/volunteer.htm.

Starting July 14, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will kick off a rehabilitation of a 7-mile stretch of Newfound Gap Road on the North Carolina side of the park.  

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most biodiverse places in the world, so it’s no surprise that many of the plants and animals chosen as symbols of the two states it straddles — North Carolina and Tennessee — are found within its boundary.

To the Editor:

In compliance with Executive Order 14253, an official sign has now been posted in the Oconaluftee Visitors Center of our beloved (and already beleaguered) Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and, I presume, at all of the hundreds of other sites overseen by the National Park Service.

On Sunday, July 6, with the cooperation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the North Shore Cemetery Association will host decorations at Proctor and Bradshaw cemeteries.  

In a shaded clearing near Mingus Mill lies a cemetery. Small, unmarked rocks sit at the head and foot of each plot, adorned with shimmering coins visitors have left as tokens of respect.
The names, life stories, and even the exact number of people occupying Enloe Cemetery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have long been lost to history, but interest in this plot of ground has increased in recent years as pieces of the story have come to light.

It’s not yet 9 a.m. on a weekday, but Alum Cave Trail is already bustling. With parking scarce, hikers might walk nearly a mile to reach the trailhead along Newfound Gap Road.

“I’ve probably already talked to 20 people,” says Joshua Albritton, supervisory preventative search and rescue ranger for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, joining PSAR Ranger Cutter Wheeler at the trailhead around a quarter after nine.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will offer the first Cades Cove vehicle-free day of the year on June 18. Vehicle-free days provide opportunities for pedestrians and cyclists to experience the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road without motor vehicles. 

This summer and fall, visitors can enjoy family-friendly programs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, starting June 7. Visitors are invited to take a hike with a ranger, learn about mountain life, meet some of the creatures that call the Smokies’ home, trek into the dark and much more.