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!
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