National parks visitation explodes in WNC
For Western North Carolinians who see the outdoors as a safe haven when life gets hard, perhaps the most distressing part of the pandemic’s early days was the domino-like succession of closures in the region’s parks, forests and other open spaces.
Drowning victim found in Big Creek area
Emergency responders have found the body of a 25-year-old man reported missing at 7:36 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, after falling into the water at Midnight Hole in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Smokies investigates racially charged vandalism on Foothills Parkway
Racially charged vandalism in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has prompted an investigation searching for those responsible.
Drowning victim found in Big Creek area
Emergency responders have found the body of a 25-year-old man reported missing at 7:36 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, after falling into the water at Midnight Hole in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Man missing in the Smokies
A search is underway for a missing man in the Big Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Smokies bear euthanized after scavenging human remains
On the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 11, backpackers were hiking the Hazel Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when they found an unoccupied tent at Campsite 82 with a single sleeping bag inside. Across the creek, they discovered human remains and a scavenging bear.
Park reopens campgrounds, visitor centers
Some campgrounds, visitor centers and previously closed roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are reopening.
Cades Cove now vehicle-free all day on Wednesdays
Cades Cove Loop Road will now be vehicle-free on Wednesdays through Sept. 30 as part of a pilot study to improve visitor experience in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Making history: In the summer of ’67, former college president was Smokies’ first black naturalist
The year that Joe Lee turned 21, the Brown vs. Board of Education decision turned 13, the Civil Rights Act turned 3 and last published edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book turned 1.
It also happened to be the year that the U.S. Department of the Interior mandated that the national parks get on board with integration and begin hiring African-American rangers. Lee, a rising senior at Talladega College with a strong interest in biology and botany, applied for a naturalist position in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Park enters second phase of reopening
The opening of Clingmans Dome Road on Tuesday, May 19, was followed by an additional wave of reopenings on Saturday, May 23.