Archive for the ‘Oconaluftee’ Category

Snow: Almost every road in Smokies closed

Saturday, January 30th, 2010
As a result of the snow that began falling yesterday, almost every road in the Great Smoky Mountains is temporarily closed.

As of 7:30 this morning, the National Weather Service is reporting 1 inch of snow at the Sugarland Visitor Center and in Cades Cove, 2" at Oconaluftee, and 8" at Newfound Gap and atop Mt. LeConte.

Here's the full list of closings:

• Newfound Gap Road (US-441)
• Little River Road
• Laurel Creek Road
• Cades Cove Loop Road
• Foothills Parkway East
• Foothills Parkway West
• Cataloochee Entrance Road
• Old NC-284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee
• Cherokee Orchard Road
• Tremont Road
• Cosby Entrance Road
• Greenbrier Road at US-321
• Lakeview Road
• Gatlinburg Bypass
• Wear Cove Road
• Upper Tremont Road

Please click here for the most updated road information or you can call 865-436-1200.

The forecast for Gatlinburg calls for more snow, freezing rain, and sleet before 4 p.m. today, then a chance of snow. High near 32. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch possible. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

For the latest weather updates and forecasts for the Smokies, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Newfound Gap, Oconaluftee, Smokies, Sugarland Visitor Center, cades cove, closed, mt. leconte, roads, snow, snow closures | Comments Off

Smokies cultural heritage to be on display at Oconaluftee

Saturday, October 31st, 2009
Smoky Mountain News has a nice article on their website about the history of the artifacts the park has collected over the years from the families that lived within the park's boundaries before it became a national park.

In fact, the article states that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to one of the most intact and comprehensive collections of early Americana.

Because of the volume of items the park has collected, it's been a challenge to store all of it over the years. At one point the artifacts were stored in the loft of the Mingus Mill.

With the recent announcement and construction of a new visitor center at Oconaluftee, it seems that at least some of those artifacts will be finding a new home. Part of the focus of the new visitor center will be cultural interpretation, which will finally allow the public to see some of these artifacts. The cultural heritage theme will dovetail with the Mountain Farm Museum already in place at the site.

The article also pointed out that the collection was put together in large part because most of the families simply couldn’t take everything with them. Fortunately, the park service was able to scoop many of the items left behind by the homesteaders. However, what I found to be quite cold, at least from the perspective of the 21st century, was that the park provided no moving assistance. For families with several small children or elderly in their ranks, multiple wagon trips over the mountains to cart out possessions was simply not possible.

The article is a great read.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Mingus Mill, Mountain Farm Museum, Oconaluftee, Smokies, cultural heritage | Comments Off

Seasonal Road Closing Season

Monday, October 19th, 2009
If you intend to hike any of the trails along Balsam Mountain Road or Heintooga Ridge Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park before winter arrives, you have only two weeks left before these roads are closed for the season.

Both roads are located in the Southeastern corner of the park between Maggie Valley and Oconaluftee in North Carolina. The two seasonal roads will close on November 1 and won’t reopen again until next May.

Of course the trails along these roads will continue to be open, but you may have problems reaching the trailheads. The following trails will be impacted: Flat Creek Falls, Hemphill Bald, Rough Fork, Palmer Creek, Balsam Mountain, Beech Gap and Hyatt Ridge trails.

Heintooga Ridge Road is accessed from the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 458. This two-way road dead-ends into the one-way Balsam Mountain Road.

Balsam Mountain Road is a thrilling ride on a one-way gravel road. Along the way you’ll see sweeping mountain vistas that overlook some of the vast wilderness where many Cherokee Indians retreated in order to avoid removal on the tragic Trail of Tears. The road also passes the highest picnic area in the park, which also affords outstanding views as well.

Five other seasonal roads, Roundbottom, Parson Branch, Rich Mountain, Roaring Fork and Clingmans Dome Road, will be closing throughout the month of November.

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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Balsam Mountain Road, Maggie Valley, North Carolina, Oconaluftee, blue ridge parkway | Comments Off

Seasonal Road Closing Season

Monday, October 19th, 2009
If you intend to hike any of the trails along Balsam Mountain Road or Heintooga Ridge Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park before winter arrives, you have only two weeks left before these roads are closed for the season.

Both roads are located in the Southeastern corner of the park between Maggie Valley and Oconaluftee in North Carolina. The two seasonal roads will close on November 1 and won’t reopen again until next May.

Of course the trails along these roads will continue to be open, but you may have problems reaching the trailheads. The following trails will be impacted: Flat Creek Falls, Hemphill Bald, Rough Fork, Palmer Creek, Balsam Mountain, Beech Gap and Hyatt Ridge trails.

Heintooga Ridge Road is accessed from the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 458. This two-way road dead-ends into the one-way Balsam Mountain Road.

Balsam Mountain Road is a thrilling ride on a one-way gravel road. Along the way you’ll see sweeping mountain vistas that overlook some of the vast wilderness where many Cherokee Indians retreated in order to avoid removal on the tragic Trail of Tears. The road also passes the highest picnic area in the park, which also affords outstanding views as well.

Five other seasonal roads, Roundbottom, Parson Branch, Rich Mountain, Roaring Fork and Clingmans Dome Road, will be closing throughout the month of November.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out Amazon's new Outdoor Recreation Store

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Balsam Mountain Road, Heintooga Ridge Road, Maggie Valley, Oconaluftee, blue ridge parkway | Comments Off