A Governors' Proclamation Ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains national park attended by state officials from Tennessee, and North Carolina, local counties and municipalities as well as tourism representatives and conservation associations will require that Clingmans Dome Road to be closed from public visitors access from 7 pm today until 5 pm tomorrow afternoon.
Conspicuously absent from this historical occasion kicking of the parks 75th anniversary will be Governor Beverly Perdue from North Carolina.
The hiking trails on an around Clingmans Dome Road will remain open to hikers including the Appalachian Trail which goes up to Clingmans Dome Observatory Tower and runs down along Clingmans Dome Road
All trailheads along Clingmans Dome Road will not have vehicle access as long as the road is closed. Hikers would be able to park or get picked up at the Newfound Gap Parking Area which will be more crowded than usual. A better alternative is to avoid the area.
The 75th anniversary celebration will be ongoing throughout the year and the kickoff open to the public will take place as a ticket event in Cades Cove June 13th at 3:00 pm. Since Cades Cove has such limited parking and access a vehicle access pass will be entered the Cove at that time. As of this morning good number of tickets for this event are still left and can be obtained by calling (865) 291-3310. More information can be found at The Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestras web site.
Your Smokies News will be at the Governors Proclamation Ceremony at Clingmans Dome and will reporting live as long as the spotty wireless signal holds up.
We attempted to visit Clingman's Dome last Friday and were prevented by troops blocking the road. We all were crushed with disappointment, especially my son. How ironic to celebrate the park's 75th anniversary by CLOSING the peak to the public!
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