Development in Swain driven by tourism
Development for Swain County often looks much different than other counties, mostly because Swain has such a limited amount of land available for development.
Smokies visitation blasts past 14 million
For five of the past seven years, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has posted an all-time high number of annual visits, and 2021 showed the largest leap yet. The park recorded a whopping 14.1 million visits in 2021 — a 12.4% increase over the previous record of 12.5 million set in 2019.
Making the invisible visible: Smokies marks three years of research effort in African American history project
Combing through the dustiest tomes of park history, Great Smoky Mountains National Park researchers have since 2018 been working to elevate a plotline that so far has been relegated only to the smallest of small type — the history and contributions of African Americans within the park and in its outlying communities.
Straight for the basket: Disc golf course will open soon in Cherokee
By the end of this year, a new championship-caliber disc golf course will debut on a wooded property along Raven Fork in Cherokee, right on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Second fatal bear attack in Smokies history confirmed
A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making Patrick Madura’s death the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history.
Bear caused 2020 Smokies death, autopsy shows
A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making it the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history.
Ticket, please: Smokies to explore paid parking, shuttle service as crowd control tools
As visitor use in the already-crowded Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to climb, for the first time ever the park will try out paid trailhead reservations as a potential answer to overcrowding.
Pilot program will bring shuttles, paid parking to Laurel Falls
In a virtual public meeting this evening, Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials unveiled a pilot plan to manage congestion at Laurel Falls Trail.
Let’s talk about all the visitors
In the middle of the tourism season, is there any way to politely state the obvious: this region is being overrun by visitors.
Proceed with caution: Data details deaths in national parks
On May 21, 2000, a beloved Sevier County elementary school teacher named Glenda Ann Bradley took a walk on the Little River Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with her ex-husband Ralph Hill. Both Hill and Bradley, 50, were experienced hikers, so when Hill went off-trail to fish, Bradley did some solo hiking while she waited for him.
