Bilingual books on display along Smokies, Gatlinburg trails

Through Aug. 31, three Storybook Trail of the Smokies displays featuring pages in English and Spanish will be open in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nearby Gatlinburg.

Help rehab beloved Smokies trail

Volunteers are needed to help trail crews in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rehabilitate the Ramsey Cascades and Little Cataloochee trails, with work sessions 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through September.

Group size limited at Whiteoak Sink during wildflower season

During the wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which extends through Sunday, May 7, visitors will be limited to groups of eight or fewer people.

Park it Forward: Congress won’t pay for Smokies maintenance backlog — you will

After years of inaction by Congress led to a massive $262 million deferred maintenance backlog in America’s most-visited national park, it will now be up to visitors to pony up their own money to support the park’s most basic staffing and maintenance needs.

Podcasting the park: “Smoky Signal” brings national park science to a new audience

Antoine Fletcher’s love affair with podcasts blossomed back in middle school when he made his first one with his best friend. The project didn’t make them millionaires, but it was “the start of something that was really cool,” Fletcher said.  

African American Project lead reflects on 2022, plans for 2023

Who were they? How did they get here? What were their lives like? These are questions that constantly resonate with me when I gaze upon clouds and mountains and dare to consider the 9,000 years of human history that lie untold within this region that we call home.

Smokies parking tag program takes effect

Starting March 1, any vehicle parked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 10 minutes must display a valid parking tag as the “Park it Forward” program takes effect. 

Throwback sign could again grace Waynesville’s Main Street

When the old Downtown Waynesville Association imploded back in 2021 due to mismanagement and a general lack of enthusiasm, it left behind only a soiled legacy that unfortunately overshadowed three decades of transformative work.

Pay to play: Smokies parking tags now on sale

Starting March 1, Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors will have to pay to park. As the date approaches and annual parking tags go on sale, park management is working to iron out the details and communicate them to the public.

Word from the Smokies: Inaugural event shows that Elkmont is not a ghost town

If you’ve been to the Elkmont Historic District of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you’ve probably come across a gathering of vacant buildings — many with wide porches, stone chimneys and wooden shutters.

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