“They always say you can’t go home again,” says 64-year-old country music icon Dolly Parton, who skedaddled to the bright lights of Nashville from her sharecropper family’s two-room cabin on the Little Pigeon River the day after her high school graduation. “Well,” adds the self-proclaimed Backwoods Barbie, “I’ve certainly proved that wrong.” >> Read Complete
Cades Cove and the rest of the national park serve as a sanctuary for the black bears of the Southern Appalachians. The estimated 1,500 black bears that live in the park are still hunted, however, with cameras — furiously and sometimes fatally by millions of visitors eager to capture the moment. “Of course, people come
Some visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were hurt when a tree fell during inclement weather. According to park officials, rangers were called around 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday and told people touring Cades Cove had been injured. Rangers found a 41-year-old woman had been knocked unconscious by the falling tree and her 1-year-old
Campgrounds in the Great Smoky Mountains are staying busy during this long holiday weekend. But this summer, visitors have limited options. >> Read Complete Article
Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers are reminding visitors that water recreation is not recommended in the park due to numerous hazards and dangers. Weather forecasts for the Fourth of July holiday week include heavy rain and thunderstorms which can cause river levels to rise rapidly. Serious water-related injuries, including fatalities, occur each year in the
On a recent May morning, Joe Yarkovich waded into the tall grass in a field in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A wildlife biologist with the National Park Service, he was there to examine and collar a day-old 45-pound baby elk — the newest addition to a herd attracting thousand
Moonshine: A word that paints a thousand pictures. In fact, according to author and University of North Carolina at Asheville history professor Dan Pierce, life in the Smoky Mountain region for many often brings to mind a vivid image of the lowly moonshiner holding his XXX-labeled stoneware jug, passed out beside his cooper pot still.
It’s been two years since Brenda McCroskey took a leisurely trip to London, but the CEO of the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce still chuckles in amazement at the familiar face she saw smiling at her as she walked out of the airport. “You go across the ocean and the first thing I see when I
The National Park Service said the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had nearly 886,000 visitors in May — the most ever in any May. The number was up by 10.5 percent, or more than 86,000 people, from May 2012. Year-to-date visitation is down by 5.5 percent from the five-year average, however. For the first five
Severe thunderstorms on Thursday caused extensive damage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Numerous trees were blown down and several trails have been closed as a result. The Gabes Mountain Trail and Snake Den Ridge Trail at Cosby and the Baxter Creek Trail and Big Creek Trail at Big Creek have been closed because
