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Great Smoky Mountain National Park Visitors Want...Space

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By Kurt Repanshek - February 12th, 2021
Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff are working to come up with solutions to congestion in the park/NPS file

Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff are working to come up with solutions to congestion in the park. This crowd near Laurel Falls was spotted on January 6, 2021/NPS file

What type of experience do Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors want? One with less congestion, according to visitor feedback.

Visitor comments to the park staff pointed out a number of things:

  • Banning or physically blocking roadside parking was suggested frequently for many park areas.
  • Participants cited damage to roadside plants as well as safety concerns for visitors – namely walking long distances along busy road shoulders to access a trailhead.
  • Participants also frequently requested more information about where and when congestion occurs in the park so that they could better plan for their ideal experience in the park.

Visitors also said they want to hear nature in the park -- the wind rustling trees, birds calling, streams babbling -- not other visitors.

"This process also underscored what park managers already knew to be true: different people have different ideal experiences – one-size does not fit all," the park noted in its January newsletter.

With that information in hand, park managers are working to develop possible solutions that could be tested as pilot projects. Stay tuned.

Comments

Submitted by Richard Moreland on February 12, 2021 - 9:21am.

We go in January, just to avoid the crowds. We stay in Townsend to miss the crowds in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

 


Submitted by Mark Westphal on February 16, 2021 - 4:48pm.

and for those of us that don't visit because of the overcrowding, we want entry fees just like every other National Park.  Maybe GSMNP can't enforce a fee on the main road, but there's no reason why every other area cannot have an entry station.  Not that entry fees will slow down the overcrowding, but if it's not free it may slow it down some.  If not, the park service is reaping in income for upgrades and improvements.  Think about it NPS!


Submitted by [email protected] on February 17, 2021 - 7:39am.

Again, let me point out:

The crowds disappear after a mile or two on the trail. 

Skip Laurel Falls. Try Mingus Creek Trail, Ramsey Cascade and almost any trail on the North Carolina side.

It helps if you're on the trail by 8am to 9am. 

Danny Bernstein

www.hikertohiker.com


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