Where to go. What to See. Things to Do.
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad-Enjoy the story of The Polar Express while riding the magical round-trip to the North Pole! Departs from Bryson City, NC. November-December 29, 2013. Has a special Polar Express Christmas Eve Limited Train on Dec. 24 for a very special Polar Express trip! For more info go to the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. BELIEVE!
Pedro Ramos has been named the Acting Superintendent for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park by the NPS Southeast Regional office in Atlanta, GA. The current superintendent is going to retire in January 2014 and Ramos will start on Jan. 12,2014. Ramos will serve for 90 days as Acting Superintedent.
The US Forest Service report the Table Rock fire that stated in the Linville Gorge is contained. Approximately 2600 acres were burned in the fire that started on Nov. 12. Rehabilitation of the burned forest is the next phase. Table Rock is open to the public.
Donald Lawrence from Tennessee was hiking down from Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains near Gatlinburg on Wednesday 11/27 about 11:30 AM when he slipped on ice, fell and broke his leg. He was rescued later that day by a team of rescuers that removed him from the mountain. He was taken to an area hospital about 10:00 PM after the team got him to an area where an ambulance was waiting. He is reported to be in stable condition.
With the cold temperatures and the recent snow fall here are the NC and TN mountain area snow skiing resorts that are open! Ober Gatlinburg Cataloochee Ski Resort Sugar Mountain Beech Mountain Need more info-check out NC Snow Skiing
Cataloochee received 4” of snow and is open with a base of 32- 50″. The Cataloochee Ski Area website reports “On Thursday, we will be skiing from the top of the quad down on nine out of seventeen slopes with three aerial lifts and one conveyor lift operating on a base of 32-50” and a machine groomed surface. On Thursday we will offer one session of skiing, day skiing from 8:30am until 4:30pm with a morning or afternoon half day rate also available.” “Tube World located in Maggie Valley, across from Ghost Town in the Sky, four miles from the ski…
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The Table Rock fire is finally fully contained-17 days after the fire started. The recent rain and snow helped but the winds still caused hot spots. The fire covered almost 2700 acres and required over 200 firefighters at its peak. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials believe it was manmade. The fire started near the Table Rock picnic area on Nov. 11. A man driving a white pickup truck was seen in the area and may have information concerning the wildfire. Courtsey of William Mauney on youtube
A recent study on tourism in Sevier County shows the first part of 2013 there was an increase in tourism in the Great Smoky Mountains area. The study also confirms the government shutdown did negatively affect tourism the first 2 weeks of October during the shutdown but after reopening the Great Smoky Mountains National Park tourism recovered. The holiday season is a great time to visit the Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Gatlinburg areas because of the Christmas decorations, lights, holiday shows and the Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood. The cold temperatures and chance of snow make a December trip to the…
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Rent rain has helped control the wildfire in Linville Gorge in the Pisgah National Forest but the fire is still yet to be under control park officials report. The fire covers nearly 2,275 acres and has taken about 200 firefighters to work the wildfire. To battle the spread of the fire firefighter try to contain the fire by building containment lines and removing forest under brush. The rain from last weekend was of some help but now with a cold front coming bringing wind and low humidity worries are the wildfire will take several more days before being brought under…
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The famous elk that recently made the news butting heads with the photographer in the Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains has been put down (euthanized) because of the animal’s aggressive behoviour. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park website writes “Last Friday park wildlife biologists made the difficult decision to euthanize an elk. The decision to euthanize an animal of any kind in the park is never made lightly”. The website continues by writing “The elk had likely been fed by visitors and had lost his instinctive fear of humans. It associated humans with food and had been approaching…
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