Parts of the Cataloochee Valley, where you can find the Palmer Chapel, are scheduled to open Friday/Kurt Repanshek file

Portions of the Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina are scheduled to open at noon local time Friday.

The area has been closed since Hurricane Helene battered the park last September. According to the National Park Service, the Cataloochee Valley saw the worst impacts from the hurricane inside the park.

Since September, the Park Service has addressed the following damage throughout Cataloochee:

• Re-graveled sections of Cataloochee Entrance Road, Cataloochee Creek Road, parking areas near Palmer House, and Cataloochee Group Camp Road.
• Completed emergency stabilization of Hiram Caldwell Barn.
• Addressed many downed and hazard trees around roads, campgrounds and buildings throughout the valley.
• Assessed trail conditions across 60 miles of trails and completed some trail restoration.
• Addressed significant erosion around Caldwell Barn and restrooms and Beech Grove School.

The park continues to work to restore roads, trails and facilities throughout Cataloochee Valley.

Cataloochee Roads

The following roads will open to vehicles in Cataloochee on April 4:

• Cataloochee Entrance Road up to Beech Grove School.
• Cataloochee Creek Road to the Old Cataloochee Entrance Road Bridge
• Old Highway 284. Visitors will be able to drive Cataloochee Valley Entrance Road up to Beech Grove School.

Visitors will be able to park near Beech Grove School and walk the rest of Upper Cataloochee Valley Entrance Road but should use extreme caution as the road is very uneven and has large ditches. This section of road saw the most significant damage from the hurricane and is not accessible to motor vehicles at this time. The park is currently evaluating options for rehabilitating the rest of Cataloochee Entrance Road.

Visitors are reminded that the entrance to Cataloochee Valley from Cove Creek Road is a winding, gravel road that has steep drop offs with no guard rails. The road is narrow, so drivers may be required to stop or back up their vehicles to allow oncoming motorists to pass. Horse trailer traffic may be encountered on the road. Please use caution when driving on this road.

The park plans to open Old Highway 284 open on April 4. Old Highway 284 is also a winding, gravel road. The park closes Old Highway 284 in cases of severe weather and/or heavy rain.

Cataloochee, which often is compared to the more popular Cades Cove on the Tennessee side of the park, is nestled inside some of the tallest mountains in the southeastern United States. The valley was once a thriving community. In 1910, approximately 1,200 people lived, worked, worshiped and went to school here. Most made their living by farming, including commercial apple growing, but an early tourism industry developed in Cataloochee with some families boarding fishermen and other tourists who wished to vacation in the mountains.

Few people remained in the area after the establishment of the national park in 1934. All that remains today are a handful of homes and barns, two churches, and a school scattered across the Little and Big Cataloochee valleys.