At the foot of the Kuwohi Observation Tower at the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail unveiled a new stone marker for the trail’s western terminus.

The unveiling marks a milestone moment for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a 1,175-mile footpath that crosses North Carolina from the Tennessee state line at Kuwohi to the Atlantic Ocean at Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks.

When the federal government shut down at midnight Oct. 1, there were a lot of questions, especially for Western North Carolina, where business owners and residents are already on the heels of a year of economic uncertainty.

Kuwohi Road will be temporarily closed for half-days on Sept. 9 and 16 to facilitate special educational programs for students from Swain County and Qualla Boundary schools. The park will close the road at midnight the night before each event and will reopen it by 2 p.m. 

The National Park Service (NPS) continues to assess conditions and to address damage following the impacts from Hurricane Helene in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Today, park staff are prioritizing assessments of high use roads and trails as well as radio repeaters and historic structures throughout the park. 

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted to change the name of Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi.

Kuwohi is the Cherokee name for the mountain and translates to “mulberry place.” In Cherokee syllabary, the name is ᎫᏬᎯ.