Additional Road Closings in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Due to Snow and Ice.

Old 284 which connect Big Creek with Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains national park has just been added to the growing list of road closures from today's storm which is expect to dump snow until around 1 pm today.

The following GSMNP roads are now closed:

• Cataloochee Entrance Road by Maggie Valley NC


• Cherokee Orchard Road in the Roaring Fork Gatlinburg TN area


• Foothills Parkway East Cosby TN to I-40


• Little River Road from Gatlinburg TN to Townsend TN


• Old 284 Between Big Creek NC and Cataloochee NC


• Newfound Gap Road Gatlinburg TN to Cherokee NC (US 441)


• Wears Gap Road between Wears Valley TN and Metcalf Bottoms

Temperatures expected to remain at or below freezing for the remainder of the day and into the teens tonight so the snow and ice will stick around until at least tomorrow.

Little River Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Closed Due Winter Storm

Little River Road connecting the Sugarlands area just outside Gatlinburg Tennessee with the Townsend / Cades Cove area is closed along with Cherokee Orchard Road and the Foothills Parkway East due the snow and ice. Snow is still falling with another few more inches expected today.

Other roads such as the Laurel Creek Road are rapidly covering over with Crib Gap being the biggest issue and at this rate sanding and plowing may not be enough.

Newfound Gap Road connecting Cherokee with Gatlinburg has been closed now for hours and may not reopen today.

More road closures and openings in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Intense plowing and sanding by the park service and sporadic sun melting snow in roadways has allowed the GSMNP to open many of the roads previously closed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Unfortunately snow continues to fall in some areas so 2 new roads maintained by the GSMNP were just closed.

The only roads closed right now in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are: Newfound Gap Road US441 from Cherokee NC to Gatlinburg TN, Foothills Parkway East From I-40 to 321 in Cosby TN, Old Route 284 From Big Creek NC to Cataloochee NC, and Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap Road to Clingmans Dome parking area.

Update 4/8/09 9:30 am list of closed roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is still current.

Newfound Gap US 441 is now open but ice and snow are still hazards in the GSMNP

Even though the Great Smoky Mountains national park opened Newfound Gap Road (US 441) between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, Laurel Creek Road, Little River Road and Wears Cove Road, some major roads in the park remain closed due to dangerous ice and snow.

The remaining major roads that are closed in the GSMNP are the Foothills Parkway East, Old 284, Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg, the Cataloochee entrance road, Cosby entrance road, and the Greenbrier Road past the rangers station.

Stream crossings whether they are footbridges or rocks can be iced and extremely dangerous so hiker must use caution.