Wildfire activity on the Great Smoky Mountains national park prompts the immediate closing of more hiking trails between Gatlinburg and Elkmont in the Metcalf area and Wears Valley
The Hiking Trails now closed in the GSMNP are:
We are on our way to the area for a first hand look and will report form the scene.
Due to a prescribed burn taking place this afternoon in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, the Wears Cove entrance will be closed to all traffic as it will be one of the fires control lines.
Hikers should also avoid going on the following hiking trails as well:
Visitors that are near the prescribed burn area as well as residents close to the park may see or smell smoke.
The Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area will remain open throughout the day. Wears Cove Road however will be closed from the bridge at the north end of the picnic area all the way up to the Wears Cove Entrance.
Prescribed burns are used to reduce the danger of out of uncontrollable wildfires by reducing the available fuel and increase biodiversity in the Great Smoky Mountains national park by simulating the natural action of wildfires.
A week after we reported that the Little Greenbrier hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National park was closed due to aggressive bear activity the popular hiking trail still remains closed.
While I have been unable to confirm the extent of the threat black bears in the area have made to visitors I can confirm numerous bear including mothers with cubs have been reported making the area an extremely unsafe for anyone to hike or venture in.
If you wish to see a black bear up close, go take the Cades Cove motor tour or take a ride in the Roaring Fork area where you can see bear from your car and where if you follow simple rules to keep you safe from a black bear attack you can take a picture of a lifetime.
There are only a few more weeks left of heavy black bear activity and being in backcountry areas where there are excessive or aggressive black bear is a bad idea.
Due to potential hazardous condition on some of the roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, some of the roads within the park closed for the winter season. These roads will start opening as of this Friday March 9th. Please note some of these roads in the National park will be opening as late as June.
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail near Gatlinburg Tennessee, Rich Mountain road which runs from Cades Cove to Townsend TN and Little Greenbrier between Metcalf Bottoms and the Wear Valley park entrance as well as Straight Fork/Round Bottom will all be opening March 9th.
The road leading up to Clingmans Dome is set to open on April 1. This is a great opportunity now to park your car at Newfound Gap and hike the 7 miles up to the top on the paved road. Wonderful vistas await you and in weeks this area will see considerable traffic when it opens.
May 11th will see both the Heintooga Ridge and the Balsam Mountain Roads opening to vehicles.
Parson Branch Road in the tail end of Cades Cove has been closed since 2003 as it sustained considerable flood damage. When it opens in mid June of this year you will be able to drive from Cades Cove all the way to North Carolina and end up on US 129 - right in the heart of the Tail of the Dragon.
