You are here

Court Documents Allege Private Trails Cut Into Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Share
Alternate Text
This map, said to have come from Blackberry Farm Resort, shows two trails -- the Boundary Trail and the Blair Gap Trail -- that are not listed on Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official trail map/Southern Forest Watch

Sometime in recent years two trails running more than a mile-and-a-half were cut into the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, allegedly for the use of a private resort that borders the park, according to court documents.

When contacted by the Traveler, park officials declined to discuss the trails, or even acknowledge their existence, as their presence has been raised in litigation. However, the "Boundary Trail" and "Blair Gap Trail" depicted on a trail map purportedly handed out by the Blackberry Farm Resort do not match any trails on the park's official trail map. Together they run along the park's western boundary roughly from the Beard Cane Trail to the Cane Creek Trail. Officials at the resort, where rooms start at $745 a night, had no immediate comment when asked about the trails this week.

Alternate Text
A trail of downed trees allegedly marked an illegal trail cut in Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Southern Forest Watch

The existence of the trails surfaced in connection with a lawsuit brought against the Park Service by Southern Forest Watch, a nonprofit group organized to overturn the park's $4 per night fee charged on backcountry travelers. Though not central to the fight over the backcountry reservation system, the group pointed to the "illegal trail system" as part of a pattern of "political patronage" that former park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson oversaw. Mr. Ditmanson, who instituted the backcountry fee system in 2013, retired from the Park Service earlier this year.

By allowing the Blackberry Farm Resort to maintain these trails for the use of their customers and residents, Great Smoky Mountains officials were limiting the general public's access to the park's backcountry and allowing it to be impaired, charges Southern Forest Watch's lawsuit. 

The Park Service, in court documents responding to Southern Forest Watch's complaint, denied allowing a "private resort to maintain and utilize their own separate, exclusive network of trails into, on and within the boundaries" of the park. However the agency did admit that there was a signpost with a map box located outside the park boundary and that "any signs that were erected within Park boundaries by Blackberry Farm Resort were erected without permission from NPS and have since been removed."

Alternate Text
These ATVers allegedly were entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the Cane Creek Trailhead/Southern Forest Watch

The trail map showing the Boundary and Blair Gap trails came from the map box on the signpost, according to Southern Forest Watch's lawyer.

The trail signs and maps were found by John Quillen, a member of Southern Forest Watch. A park volunteer who regularly hikes the Cane Creek Trail to help maintain it, Mr. Quillen discovered the Boundary Trail in 2009 when he came upon a trail of trees that had been chainsawed down. He and some friends also heard a chainsaw at work, and encountered riders on two all-terrain vehicles who allegedly claimed they had come from Blackberry Farm. Photos of a trail sign, the ATV, and downed trees are part of Southern Forest Watch's court filing.

No court date for the matter has been set.

Comments

I am a frequent user of the Smokies backcountry and loved the campsites in this area until they began to be closed one by one over time with little or no explaination. Kurt thanks for posting this article it does indeed raise many questions. I think many of us need to look deeper into this and find out the truth. 


We all know what Good Neighbors and Bad Neighbors are. Good Neighbors might approach you to ask "hey, I've got a question or concern, can we talk about it?" Bad Neighbors leap to conclusions, file lawsuits and make unsubstantiated charges with loaded emotional phrases like "illegal" and "political patronage". I hope we would not wish a Bad Neighbor on our worst enemy, let alone on any of our National Parks. But, alas, most have them. It's abundantly clear who is which here. And most readers of NPT should know the history behind this. The merits (or not) of backcountry fees have not a whit to do with the existence of this trail, though. My question is: knowing this, how would a responsible journalist report this story? Even the interns at my little hometown newspaper know: before reporting the unsubstantiated allegations of a Bad Neighbor, they take 20 minutes to phone a couple Good Neighbors so they can report The Other Side of the story. In my opinion, the "Rupert Murdoch School of Journalism" does not serve the public interest, and I see far too much of it here. It simply incites the ecbucks of the world to parrot unfounded rumors. May I ask for less heat, more light, please?

duplicate - ignore.

Rod, I couldn't agree more.  Next time I see a flash of a black haired creature running up through the forest, and I don't get a good view of it...  I'll submit a "Bigfoot is discovered in the Smokies" story.  I'm sure the trolls will take that articles comment section and construe it to many long drawn out posts that somehow include allegations of previous superintendents and state senators being behind the newly discovered primate.

With that said, i'm exiting from this thread. I have nothing more to add or say.


EC, in one sentence, you said it better than I. 


Gary Wilson:

When you start with the name calling (especially about our owl) you are admitting you lost the argument.


As always, I expect nothing less from you, Tennessee.    Since reading comprehension and doing research isn't one of your strong suits, I think you should remember that hiking manways isn't illegal, and that if it were you and your friends would have been guilty of illegal activities for many years..


 Rod,  wouldn't the "other side of the story"  be Blackberry Farm's version or the NPS?  Oh wait, they "declined to comment".  Didn't they.  Thank you for enlightening us on what a service Blackberry Farms has done by chain sawing trees and riding ATV's in the National Park.  

Kurt, please add my voice to the many on this thread thanking you for covering this very important story.  You are the only media outlet with the guts to do so that isn't afraid of the wealthy follks who think the park is a private playground for customers.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.