Cades Cove Loop Road Public Briefing on Paving

The managers at the Great Smoky Mountains national park will be making a 1 hour presentation on the alternative schedules and construction phases to repave the badly worn Cades Cove Loop Road.

The 11 mile Cades Cove Loop is badly in need of repair and has been for years. The national park plans to repave the road in early 2010 and has worked with engineers at the Federal Highway Administration to formulate various construction scenarios and will be presenting at this meeting that advantages and disadvantages of the various scenarios they have narrowed it down to.

Obviously major construction on the Cades Cove Loop will hamper visitor access to the road as well as connecting hiking trails, Parsons Branch Road, Rich Mountain Road, Forge Creek Road, historic buildings and the Cades Cove Visitor center.

The Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson is welcoming any of the public's "questions about the various alternative concepts and the construction methods under study".

Mr. Ditmanson stressed that this meeting is not to address broader planning of the Cades Cove area transportation alternatives or any potential facility changes. According to Mr. Ditmanson these potential changes and issues will discussed at future public meetings.

While the national park hopes to make changes in Cades Cove in the future, who knows how our present national economic crises as well as lower GSMNP visitation will affect funding for future GSMNP projects.

The surface of the Cades Cove Loop road is deplorable as well as some of the pull offs. This road must be paved to avoid further damage to visitor's vehicles and reduce the obvious hazard to the personal safety of hikers and bikers.

Unfortunately the National Parks track record on the last few construction projects in the GSMNP such as on the Spur, along Little River Road at Indian Rock and Sparks Lane have not been completed on time.

Besides the completion delays, the Spur was resurfaced with materials and a process that was inferior to original specs in an effort to rush completion. Hopefully the Spur project was completed at a far lower price than what the superior process and materials would have cost had they waited until the specialized crews and the equipment were available.

Concerned locals as well as businesses that depend on tourism should attend the Cades Cove paving plans presentation that will take place at the Townsend Heritage Center next Thursday the 13th from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Junior Ranger Day

Saturday April 26th marks the 2nd annual Junior Ranger day special activities for kids to be held in all 3 Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitor centers from 11 am to 2 pm.

Children and their parents can join in fun filled and education activities such as searching for wildflowers and salamanders, toy making, weaving, even making dinner bells at a blacksmith shop.

According to Great Smoky Mountains national park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson "National Junior Ranger Day provides a great opportunity for children and families to spend time together learning about the Park that offers an array of educational experiences and recreational opportunities right in their own backyard." He went on to say "We hope that our local residents will take advantage of this program to interact with our staff and the resources, and, at the same time, plan a day doing activities in the Park."

The visitor centers in the Great Smoky Mountains national park where the junior ranger programs are taking place are:

• The Sugarlands Visitor Center near downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• The Cades Cove's Cable Mill Visitor Center at the back end of the Cades Cove 11 mile loop road near Townsend, Tennessee.
• The Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina

Special age appropriate Junior Ranger booklets which were produced in cooperation with Great Smoky Mountains Association can be purchased for $2.50 each at park visitor centers and are available for ages 5- 6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12.

Popular road in Cades Cove section of the GSMNP Reopens

The most popular section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the Cades Cove area and today finally after more than 4 years the Parsons Branch Road will be reopened to motorists and hikers.

The National Park Service has worked hard to reopen the Parson branch road a one way 8 mile gravel road which takes you from the far end of Cades Cove to US 129 right into the famous Tail of the Dragon a favorite road for motorcycle riders and performance car enthusiasts.

Flooding in May of 2003 damaged the road which meandered through old growth and second growth forest and like the Rich Mountain Road also in Cades Cove, offers a motorist the closest experience to actually hiking the trails in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson explained "When we planned and carried out the repairs we engineered in some changes to the drainage channels and stream crossings that would make it less susceptible to being washed out again, but I think visitors will find that its primitive character and its sense of solitude are still unimpaired."

The Parson Branch Road is scheduled to reopen today at noon. Keep your eye open for representatives of Your Smokies!