Park Reaches Biodiversity Milestone at 20,000 Species – Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reached a biodiversity milestone with the discovery and documentation of 20,000 species of plants, animals, and other organisms. Scientists from across the world have assisted the park in a concerted effort to catalogall life in the park through an All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI).
Park Hosts Mountain Life Festival – Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host the annual Mountain Life Festival near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the Mountain Farm Museum on Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience traditional fall harvest activities on the farm including hearth cooking, apple butter making, blacksmithing, lye soap making, and food preservation. All activities are free and open to the public.
Park Hosts Star Gazing Event at Cades Cove – Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a stargazing program in Cades Cove on Saturday, September 7, 2019 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Park rangers invite the public to escape the city lights and observe the natural night sky for an evening of viewing stars with equipment and instruction provided by the Smoky Mountain Astronomical Society.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., August 1, 2019, the northern area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, TN experienced extremely heavy rainfall causing multiple small rock slides, downed trees, and flash flooding along the Spur and Gatlinburg Bypass.
Interagency Search Effort Leads to Successful Outcome – After spending four nights lost in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Kevin Mark Lynch was found by searchers. At approximately 4:25 p.m. searchers discovered Lynch, alert and responsive, in the southeast area of the park near the Cataloochee Divide Trail.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that Look Rock Picnic Area will reopen to the public on Friday, July 26, 2019. Park crews recently completed the first phase of a rehabilitation project allowing the site to reopen after being closed in 2013.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently benefited from the hard work of eight Girl Scouts who completed 80 hours of service in the park rehabilitating trails, cleaning campgrounds, removing invasive plant species, and providing educational programs to visitors. The high school girls came from across the country to participate in a unique service opportunity offered through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the Girl Scouts of America.
Established in 1934, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the busiest park in the United States, annually attracting approximately 10 million visitors. The park, which covers 800 square miles of mountainous terrain in both …
Park Hosts African American History Open House Discussions – Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials invite the public to two open house events concerning the history of African Americans within and around the park. The discussion events will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 1 at the Blount County Public Library in Maryville, TN and on Monday, August 5 at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville, NC.