Despite more than two decades to get the task accomplished, and almost two years after a federal judge ordered the Federal Aviation Administration and National Park Service to get the job done by this summer, air tour management plans for eight national parks will not be completed on schedule, according to court documents filed by the two agencies.
In 2018, Great Smoky Mountains National Park began a concentrated effort to tell the stories of African Americans who have lived and worked in the Smokies over the past several centuries. Born out of that focus, the African American Experiences Project aims to collect the stories and history of Black people in the Smokies and to educate the public about their historical presence and contributions dating back to the 1540s.
Another tranche of Great American Outdoors Act money is flowing into the National Park System, this time to Great Smoky Mountains National where $31 million will be spent to rehabilitate 17 miles of Foothills Parkway West.
How best to manage visitors to the Laurel Falls Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to be a discussion park staff is having, though the park will retain day-long, vehicle free access to the Cades Cove Loop Road on Wednesdays this summer.
With the great rush to the outdoors that we’ve seen since the Covid pandemic erupted, there have been many calls for more space in the National Park System. While there are places in the West that seem to be logical additions to the parks there, that's not the case in the East. So, if we want more park lands east of the Mississippi, how could we gain them?
Happy New Year! In keeping a tradition began with the National Parks Traveler some eight years prior, contributing photographer Rebecca Latson has listed her 10 favorite shots captured during 2021. Rebecca explains why she likes the image and how she got the shot.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the great hiking destinations in the mid-Atlantic region, if not the entire East Coast. Across its rumpled 522,427 acres there are more than 800 miles of trails. They range from relatively short footpaths to scenic payoffs like Rainbow Falls and Abrahams Falls to the more than 70 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that crosses the top of the park.
How much do you really know, or think you know, about the various units within the National Park System? Test your national parks knowledge and maybe learn something new with this Quiz and Trivia #45.