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Great Smoky Mountains National Park

UPDATE 3 | Around The Parks: Coping With Coronavirus, March 24

Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks announced Tuesday afternoon that they would be closed to all visitors. The announcement came hours after Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials, unable to discourage visitors from coming into the park, announced that they would close most of the park to the public in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus. That was followed by news that the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway would close, and Mount Rainier National Park officials said they were closing all roads into their park.

UPDATED | Coronavirus Impacts Reaching National Parks, Raising Concerns

Concern over the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 on Friday led to cancellation of the annual maple sugar festival at Indiana Dunes National Park, the planned closing of the Washington Monument on Saturday, and worry for park employees who must interact with visitors in the National Park System.

Great Smoky Mountains Considers Changes To Cades Cove Biking Access

It's not just cars that are clogging the loop road to Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Bicyclists and pedestrians flood the 11-mile, one-way route during vehicle-free periods, currently Wednesday and Saturday mornings until 10 a.m. from May through September. Due to growing use and congestion, the park is proposing to implement a pilot study for 2020 to evaluate changing this vehicle-free period to a weekly, full-day closure on Wednesdays from May through September.

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