Thursday, March 08, 2007

Horse rentals and visitor center spring schedule for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Now that the days are getting longer and the weather on the Smokies is milder the Great Smoky Mountains national park will be opening up some facilities and switching over to its spring schedule starting March 9th.

Spring mean wildflowers in the GSMNP as well as the opening of horseback riding concessions in the park and longer visitor center hours.

The Spring Great Smoky Mountains Park Visitor Center Schedule:

  • Sugarlands Visitor Center Gatlinburg, TN Open 8:00am-5:00pm
  • Cades Cove Visitor Center Townsend, TN Open 9:00 am-5:00pm
  • Oconaluftee Visitor Center Cherokee, NC Open 8:00am-4:30pm

Now that winter is leaving the Smoky Mountains you can now start to rent horses again in the National Park. The horse rental concessions open in a staggered schedule starting with the Smoky Mountain Riding Stable near Gatlinburg Tennessee which will open this Saturday the 10th.

The Cades Cove Riding Stables in Cades Cove near Townsend TN opens next Thursday March 25th and the Sugarlands Riding Stable near the Gatlinburg TN entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains national park will open March 17th.

The last riding stable to open is the North Carolina Smokemont Riding Stable starts up April 1. Smokemont near the Cherokee entrance and has a wonderful waterfall tour you can take by horseback.

All openings days of the riding stables in the national park are based upon the weather cooperating. The rate for riding a horse in the Smoky Mountains national park is $20 per rider per hour.

For those who don't care to ride their own horse, you can enjoy either a boggy ride for ($7.50 per person or a hayride for $6 per person in the Cades Cove Riding Stables. There are also limited ranger led hayrides for $8 per person.

More horseback riding information, locations and rules.

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