Second Lady visits Smokies as park announces Phase 2 reopenings
Second Lady Karen Pence visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today to celebrate implementation of the park’s next reopening phase and to highlight the important mental health benefits of time outdoors.
Smokies reopens: DOI Secretary makes visit; Tribe, Parkway also increase public access
Visitors from 26 different states and Washington, D.C., traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last weekend after it opened for the first time since coronavirus concerns prompted a complete closure March 24.
Phase reopening starts in the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened most trails and roads when it entered its first phase of reopening last weekend, but some areas and facilities remain closed.
Smokies to partially reopen May 9
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park plans to reopen many of its roads and trails beginning Saturday, May 9. Campgrounds, picnic pavilions, visitor centers and many secondary roads will remain closed during the first reopening phase, which is expected to last for at least two weeks.
Public land managers discuss closure decisions and plans for re-opening
While people nationwide are lamenting the loss of bars, restaurants, concerts, festivals and countless other aspects of community life amid the COVID-19 crisis, for many in Western North Carolina the deepest blow has been the loss of access to hundreds of thousands of acres of cherished public lands.
Synchronous firefly event canceled
The wildly popular synchronous firefly viewing event in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been canceled this year as efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 continue.
Pandemic presents budget challenge for Swain
County governments are in the midst of planning for their 2020-21 fiscal budgets that have to be approved by the end of June, but the COVID-19 Pandemic is going to throw a wrench in their ability to project revenues for the remainder of the year.
National parks, forests respond to COVID-19
Operations have shifted on public lands in Western North Carolina due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cades Cove reopens
Cades Cove has reopened following a two-month closure for repairs at Bote Mountain Tunnel.
The locked gate: Road closure decisions complex in the Smokies
Lisa Hendy is an early riser, and when it comes to dealing with snow days in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that’s a good thing.
As chief ranger, Hendy’s responsibilities are many — but one of them is deciding when, if and for how long to close the roads when the weather gets bad.
