Latest news stories from around the Great Smoky Mountains.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers are seeking volunteers to help with an important research project. In an effort to do a better job of tracking nature’s calendar, or phenology, park rangers are recruiting volunteers who are willing to adopt a tree monitoring plot in areas throughout the North Carolina side of the park. A
Making it through winters here in the Smokies region isn’t that big a deal. The lower elevations where most live don’t normally get a lot of snow and the temperatures only occasionally dip below zero. However, once you get as far north as Boone or Blacksburg, Va., that scenario starts to change drastically. The early
The year was 1912 and the women of Pi Beta Phi were celebrating the 45th anniversary of their sorority’s founding. In honor of the occasion, they began an educational project in the form of a settlement school in the Gatlinburg area. The women understood the craftsmanship of the locals was their opportunity to develop a
A short video of a soothing stream at Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Taken January, 2015) Located on the Tennessee side of the park near the community of Townsend, Tremont is one of the most beautiful areas in the Smokies. Featuring gorgeous waterfalls and cascades Tremont is a favorite destination of hikers,
Distance: 1.5 miles. 0.2 mile side trip to Walker Sister Cabin. Difficulty: Easy Connections: Metcalf Bottoms Trail, Little Greenbrier Trail The Little Brier Gap Trail is a popular hike that leads by the old homesite of the famed Walker Sisters of Little Greenbrier. To reach the trailhead travel up Wear Cove Gap Road from the
A relatively young East Tennessee company is launching a program to give back to the community, and it’s asking for the public’s help. Sugarlands Distilling Company, which makes moonshine and is based in Gatlinburg, opened its doors in March of 2014. With the start of the new year, the distillery has launched its new charitable
Distance: 0.6 miles, one way Difficulty: Easy Elevation Gain: 100 ft. Connections: Little Brier Gap Trail The Metcalf Bottoms Trail is an easy, pleasant hike that leads you to the Little Greenbrier School, an old log building originally built in 1882. The Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area is located around 11 miles west of Gatlinburg on
Officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have announced the temporary closure of the Cades Cove Loop Road in January in order to complete hazard tree removal. From January 6-8 and January 13-15 the road will be closed to all motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. “We regret the inconvenience to Cades Cove visitors,” said Acting
Don Barger doesn’t need to consult empirical data for confirmation that air quality in East Tennessee has improved dramatically in recent years. Barger, southern regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said spectacular views of the Great Smoky Mountains on his way to work from Norris to Knoxville in the mornings are evidence enough.
Balds in the Great Smoky Mountains are somewhat mysterious things. These treeless areas high in the mountains were described by naturalist Edwin Way Teale as, “pieces of prairie lifted thousands of feet into the air.” But no one is quite sure how they came to exist in the Southern Appalachians. Biologists have many theories including
