Roads Closures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Newfound Gap Road US 441 between Cherokee North Carolina and Gatlinburg Tennessee closed last night and hard working park service crews were able to clear downed limbs, plow, sand and keep the road upon for about 5 hours before it had to close again at 2:30 this afternoon.

We are now under a winter storm warning with a potential of up to 17 inches of snow accumulation in the higher elevations by Wednesday along with high winds.

Presently the complete list of closed roads in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is:

• Cataloochee Entrance Road
• Clingmans Dome Road
• Foothills Parkway East (I-40 to Cosby)
• Newfound Gap Road US 441
• Old 284
• Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail

You can keep track of what is going on through our Smokies Weather twitter feed or keep up with Road Conditions in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Last Update: 3:53 pm 10/30/12

Weather and rockslides deliver knockout punch to drivers in the NC and TN Great Smoky Mountains.

Drivers trying to back and forth from Tennessee and North Carolina had to contented with I-40 being closed by the NC-TN border by a huge rockslide for months, Old 284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee being closed for most of the winter due to snow, ice and downed trees, Newfound Gap Road closing often due to snow, ice and storm damage and now 129 - "the Dragon" is partially blocked due to rockslide.

Snowfall last night closed Newfound Gap Road though lower elevation roads in the park that are not closed due to construction or Old 284 which has been closed for weeks due to so many trees down, snow, ice and washout areas remain open.

Yesterday morning even though the weather was warm in lower elevations, dangerous icy conditions between Newfound Gap Parking area and Clingmans Dome Road caused a Tennessee driver of a truck along with a passenger to slide off the road and down the bank.

Park rangers arriving at the scene determine that the truck was very precarious and had to wait for rescue crews and tow trucks to arrive to stabilize the vehicle in order to keep it from falling down the mountainside before they could free the passengers who remarkably did not suffer serous injuries from such a crash.

Drivers need to use extreme caution when driving this time of the year as lower elevations can be in the 60's and dangerous ice can be on the roadways in higher elevations or in shaded areas.

Today and tomorrow calls from more snowfall and freezing temperatures and even it Newfound Gap Reopens expect that it may close again especially as melting snow and ice refreezes in the latter parts of the day.

Newfound Gap Road and most GSMNP roads open.

Beside all of the snow and ice on the roads, tree limbs laden with snow, broke, uprooted or just bent under the weight creating road blockages and hazards in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. Hikers may encounter obstructions related to this storm in backcountry for months.

Newfound Gap Road, Laurel Creek Road, Little River Road and Cades Cove Loop Road all remain open however Old State Road 284, the Foothills Parkway East, the Cataloochee Entrance Road as well as Lake View Drive all remain closed to due ice, snow and some other storm related cleanup needed.

Current Road Closures and Openings in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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.

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.

Most roads closed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park due to ice and snow.

Snow, Ice and fog created treacherous driving conditions through most the Great Smoky Mountains national park prompting the closing of most of the through roads within the GSMNP.

The following roads are closed:

• Newfound Gap US 441 between Cherokee NC and Gatlinburg TN


• Foothills Parkway East


• Foothills Parkway West


• Old 284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee


• Cherokee Orchard Road after the Twin Creek Science Center in Gatlinburg


• Little River Road from the Sugarlands visitor center to the Townsend Wye


• Wears Cove Road

None of these roads are not expected to reopen today even though the snowfall has slowed down or stopped throughout much of the park.

Driving is expected to be far worse tomorrow as the freezing temperatures tonight will lock whatever has melted into sheets of ice and as much as another 4 inches of snow may fall on the Smoky Mountains.

Old NC 284 is closed as well as Newfound Gap Road

Old man winter forces more road closings in the Great Smoky Mountains national park as both old North Carolina 284 as well as US 441 Newfound Gap Road have both been closed again due to snow and ice.

Newfound Gap Road, Clingmans Dome Road and Old 284 in the GSMNP are closed

Last nights blustery winter weather in the GSMNP closed Newfound Gap road US 441 the roadway connecting the Cherokee North Carolina and the Gatlinburg Tennessee areas of the park, Clingmans Dome road as well as Old 284 in North Carolina connecting Big Creek NC with the Cataloochee Valley just outside Maggie Valley NC.

Expect that even roads that are still open may have patches of ice or snow especially above 3,000 feet.

More snow and rain showers are expected today.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park closes many roads due to ice

Today's freezing rain and cold weather caused many road closures in the Great Smoky Mountains National park which will remain closed for at least the rest of the night.

The roads currently closed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park due to ice are:

• Newfound Gap Road (US 441) from NC to TN
• Little River Road (73)in TN
• Wears Cove Road in TN
• Foothills Parkway East in TN
• Cherokee Orchard Road in TN
• Lakeview Drive in NC
• Old 284 in NC