Comment Now: Great Smoky Mountains Oconaluftee Visitor Center Improvements

Description: This Environmental Assessment (EA) addresses the proposal by the National Park Service (NPS) to improve visitor services and vehicular circulation at the existing Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The project site is located near Cherokee, North Carolina, along Newfound Gap Road. To accomplish this the NPS proposes to construct: a new visitor center building to tell the Park's natural and cultural history stories, a new restroom facility and an information kiosk.

The Oconaluftee Visitor Center area is designated in the Park's General Management Plan (GMP) as a general park development subzone. The GMP calls for a new visitor center to be constructed to serve the Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the surrounding region. The location and arrangement of the facility is to be covered by a development concept plan.

Two alternatives are analyzed in this document. Alternative A is the No Action Alternative and Alternative B is the Build Alternative.

Date Document Posted: 04/21/2008

Comment Period: 04/21/2008 - 05/27/2008

You can find more information at this site.

Comments

Submitted by Danny Bernstein on November 27, 2009 - 10:00am.

Danny Bernstein
www.hikertohiker.com

The Oconaluftee Visitor Center was built by the CCC. That's a long time ago.
Though it's a beautiful building, it's small. I'm so glad we're getting a new Visitor Center
in a couple of years.
The park has already enlarged the parking area.

Submitted by Carol Bryant (not verified) on March 9, 2010 - 4:07pm.

Adding a new visitor's center is a wonderful thing. We need to make entrance to the park as convenient for the visitor's as possible. Being able to give them a beautiful place to visit before entering the park sets just the right tone for their visit to this beautiful and highly visited National Park.

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