July 30, 2010

Citizen scientist opportunities to conduct field research

CitizenScience Ash field work

Volunteer opportunity to conduct field research GATLINBURG – Researchers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are inviting people to volunteer as Citizen Scientists on Saturday, Oct. 31, and join Park biologists and educators in developing scientific data in the national park.

Smokies announces schedule of Cades Cove Loop Road re-construction

GATLINBURG – Great Smoky Mountains National Park managers have announced plans to rehabilitate the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop Road in the spring of 2010.  Due to the limitations on work processes posed by the narrow, single lane historic road the Park plans to close the road to all use from Mar. 1 through May 21, [...]

Overnight closures of Foothills Parkway East (Cocke County) next week

GATLINBURG – Great Smoky Mountains National Park plans to close the Foothills Parkway East in Cocke County, Tenn. from I-40 to Cosby, overnight on Tuesday Sept. 22 and Wednesday Sept. 23.   Closures will begin at 8 p.m. both nights with the road re-opened by 7 a.m. the folowing day.  The closure is being imposed [...]

Great Smokies celebrates its 75th

Dolly Parton, the park's 75th anniversary ambassador, sings one of the two songs that she wrote in tribute to the park.  NPS photo by Warren Bielenberg.

NEWFOUND GAP – More than 2,000 people gathered to celebrate the park’s 75th anniversary with a rededication ceremony at Newfound Gap on Wednesday.  The event was staged to honor the visionaries who helped conceive the park idea and pay tribute to the many people who personally sacrificed for its creation. The ceremony, held at the [...]

Tickets for rededication ceremony no longer available

GATLINBURG – As of this morning, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has received more requests than space will allow for the Rededication Ceremony at Newfound Gap.   Therefore, additional requests for tickets will no longer be accepted.   After Park officials process the requests submitted so far, those individuals that were successful in contacting the [...]

National Park re-opens Little River Road

GATLINBURG – Park officials re-opened the Little River Road inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park at about 8 p.m last. Tuesday evening. The road had been blocked since last Friday by a rockslide. Park managers initially estimated that the slide might produce 30 dump truckloads of rock before the slope was stabilized, but eventualy 60-70 [...]

Smokies visits jump 11.7% for July

The Park had a busy July GATLINBURG – Great Smoky Mountains National Park visits were up by 11.7% in July, with increases at Gatlinburg, Tenn. (8.1%), and Townsend, Tenn. (1.9%).  Cherokee, N.C.  was unchanged.   “With 1,404,034 visitors this July, we had the biggest July since July 2000,” said Management Assistant, Bob Miller.   The [...]

Public invited to Smokies rededication ceremony

GATLINBURG – The public is invited to attend, on a first-come, first-serve basis, the 75th Anniversary Rededication of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on September 2, along with a host of dignitaries and distinguished guests, including the Park’s 75th Anniversary Ambassador Dolly Parton.   The ceremony will begin at 11:15 a.m. and will end around [...]

Park announces plans to begin stimulus funded projects

GATLINBURG, Tenn. – By late August officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park say they expect to award the first round of contracts to improve the Park’s facilities using the $64 million that the Smokies is receiving under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  They are also working to minimize the disruption that the [...]