Great Smoky Mountains national park closes virtually all roads due to snow and ice

Presently the following roads closed today in The Great Smoky Mountains national park due to yesterdays freezing rain and snow:

• Newfound Gap Road US 441 Connecting Gatlinburg with Pigeon Forge
• Foothills Parkway East connecting I-40 with State Road 321 in Cosby.
• Foothills Parkway W Connecting State Road 321 with 129 (The Dragon)
• Little River Road from the Sugarlands Visitor Center to the Townsend Wye
• Wear Cove Road connection Wears Valley to Metcalf Bottoms on Little River Road
• Laurel Creek Road from the Townsend Wye providing access Tremont and Cades Cove
• The Gatlinburg Bypass connecting the park with the Spur portion of the Foothills Parkway
• Old 284 Connecting Big Creek with Cataloochee
• Cherokee Orchard Road the entrance to the Roaring Fork section of the GSMNP
• The entrance to the Greenbrier section of the GSMNP
• The entrance to the Cataloochee section of the GSMNP
• The entrance to the Cosby section of the GSMNP

While some roads in lower elevations may reopen quickly expect Newfound Gap Road, Old 284 and the closed sections of the Foothills Parkway to remain closed for a while.

Due to environmental restrictions the national park service can plow and sand the roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, but they can not use salt on roadways to melt ice.