Townsend Vacation Cabin

02/20/2025

Check out 441/New Found Gap! 🌬

02/14/2025

To: Visitors
From: Smokies Staff

💌 Loving our wildlife is good and fun but make it fun for everyone.
Keeping at least 50 yards away is a rule to practice every day.

💕 We thank you for loving and respecting our wildlife as much as we do.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To learn more about protecting black bears visit https://go.nps.gov/16bc4n



Image by Kenzie Connor

02/12/2025

02/11/2025

PARK NEWS: Here are the dates of when roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will open and close in 2025. These are planned dates they publish each year. They do not include current road closures due to rock slides, weather or storm cleanup. Please check the NPS website prior to travel.

02/04/2025

Discover the Avent Cabin! 🎨

Originally built in 1845, this cabin was most recently owned by Frank and Mayna Avent and is now maintained by the Smokies as a historic home site.

Mayna Avent is famously known for having used this cabin as her art studio, where she became a nationally renowned artist recognized for her oil and watercolor paintings. Her artwork has even been exhibited in prestigious galleries, including the Smithsonian.

To find the Avent Cabin, hike the Jake's Creek Trail. About 3/4 of a mile in, you will encounter an unmarked staircase on the right, shortly after the junction with the Meigs Mountain Trail. Descend the staircase to cross a foot log bridge, followed by a short ascent to the cabin. The total mileage for this hike is approximately 2.4 miles roundtrip, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet.

Photo by Kenzie Connor

02/04/2025

01/31/2025

🔥 The National Park Service is planning a prescribed burn on about 1,400 acres in Cades Cove at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, starting as early as February 3 through February 5, weather permitting.

These controlled burns help reduce fuel loads, restore habitats, and maintain the historic landscape. Cades Cove Loop Road will remain open but expect brief delays and temporary closures for safety. Sparks and Hyatt Lane will be closed, and drivers should reduce speed and avoid stopping in work zones. If smoke is present, close windows and turn on headlights.

New growth and early signs of spring will be visible in only a matter of weeks following a prescribed burn.

For more information about prescribed burns check out our 'Wildland Fire' page at https://go.nps.gov/160hpz

NPS Photo

01/04/2025

The park closed US 441 Newfound Gap Rd at 8 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3, ahead of possible snow. If you're wondering why they would close the road so far in advance of a potential winter storm this weekend, it's because the mountains are already getting quite icy and snowy. The park also does not salt or treat the roads due to environmental reasons. Check out these shots from the Newfound Gap we**am (funded by your gifts to Friends) Friday at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. It may be almost 40 degrees and dry in Gatlinburg, but on the mountaintop it's 22 degrees with lots of frozen moisture from the clouds. Here's a link to the Newfound Gap we**am if you want to keep an eye on the conditions. https://www.air-resource.net/grsmnfgap/