Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin its 2026 season of adaptive programming this spring with ranger-led experiences designed for visitors with limited mobility and their families.  

This year’s lineup includes hiking, biking, fly fishing and one overnight backcountry camping trip:   

Crystal Wilkinson has always known she was a writer. But it wasn’t until well into adulthood that she realized she could make a living at it.

“I was always writing,” she said, “and at some point I remember saying to myself, ‘Well, the literal definition of being published is ‘to be made public.’ So what does that mean?’”

Haywood Waterways Association will lead a hike to Mouse Falls in the Big Creek Watershed of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday, April 12.

The event is free for members and a $5 donation for nonmembers. Haywood Waterways memberships start at $25. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park invites the public to the annual “Signs of Spring” event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 18 in Cades Cove. The event celebrates National American Sign Language Day. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the Smokies from park rangers and members of the deaf community.   

To the Editor:

Last month, Charlie Sellers was appointed to lead the Smokies — an achievement well-earned. A Haywood County native, Charlie began his career with the National Park Service as a draftsman for the Blue Ridge Parkway. He later served as deputy chief of facilities for Great Smoky Mountains National Park — our park — steadily rising through the ranks to this latest leadership role. 

As spring approaches, Great Smoky Mountains National Park reminds visitors of group size limits during the popular wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink. Individuals and small groups of eight or fewer people may access the Whiteoak Sink area throughout the wildflower season from April 1 through May 3. 

The National Park Service plans to burn approximately 180 acres in Wear Cove Gap (north of Metcalf Bottoms) and 243 acres in Lynn Hollow (near the Top of the World community) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Weather permitting, burn operations may begin as early as March 25 and may continue through March 31. These prescribed fires will help to safely reduce fuels, maintain resilient natural systems and protect communities along the park boundary. 

Charlotte Rollman swears she used to be shy.

“I did art so that people would like me,” she said, telling the story of how, as a fourth grader, she once drew money and passed it out to her classmates, who then “really liked me.”

But when John Adkins met the woman who would later become his business partner, shyness was nowhere to be found among his first impressions.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking individuals to join the elk rover volunteer team for the upcoming season. Elk rovers share information with visitors about safe viewing and help keep elk and visitors safe. Elk rovers will be stationed at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, located near Cherokee. 

With spikes on his shoes, a helmet on his head, a rope on his harness and a chainsaw on his belt, Ken Gragg starts to climb. He moves easily up the red maple tree, pausing as he reaches a Y in the trunk. Balancing on his spikes, he assesses his surroundings, draws his chainsaw and cuts away the smaller half of the Y. It falls to the ground with a crackle and a thump, and Gragg continues climbing.