Latest GSM Guide Posts

Not Too Late For Fall Foliage Trip

October 31, 2016

Fall Foliage Reports and Weekly Updates for 2016 It’s not to late to head to the Great Smoky Mountains to see the fall foliage. The lower elevations are peaking now and the weather is just beautiful! 10/31/2016 Fall Foliage Report and Update: Peak colors are past for most of the park but there is still a lot of color to see in the lower elevations. A ride in the Great Smoky Mountains this week will still offer some beautiful views. Especially at all the overlooks that offer a long-range view. Lower elevations are at peak now (under 2000 ft). Places to…
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Weekly Fall Foliage Reports Underway

September 29, 2016

Our Weekly Fall Foliage Reports and Updates Are Underway The Great Smoky Mountains Guide have started our weekly fall foliage reports and update for the 2016 fall foliage season. The color changes have begun in the Great Smoky Mountains in the highest elevations. We are here to help you keep up to date on where and when to go to see the colorful show. We have started to update out Fall Foliage page on the web site at least once a week. The longer nights, cooler nighttime temperatures and the nice sunny days are just perfect. The trees that change…
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Cold Front Brings in True Fall

September 24, 2016

Finally Autumn Arrives With Cold Front Autumn has arrived in the Smokies! Finally a cold front is coming to the area of the Great Smoky Mountains bringing cooler  temperatures. Warm sunny days and cool nights are just what we need to get this year’s fall foliage show started.  A cold front will pass through East Tennessee and the North Carolina mountains today bringing an end to the summer like weather. The Great Smoky Mountains Guide Fall Foliage has already started posting our weekly fall foliage reports and updates. Check out our reports on the Fall Foliage page. We also have…
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I-40 Lane Closures Between NC and TN

July 27, 2016

I-40 Lane Closures Near NC/TN State Line Till Labor Day I-40 lane closures will bring delay of traffic for the remainder of the summer. Travelers on Interstate 40 between North Carolina and Tennessee need to know about lane closures for the next several weeks. Expect traffic delays for the remainder of the summer due to work by the NCDOT. The NCDOT will be performing work to remove rock and soil high above the interstate. This project is needed to reduce the possibility of rock slides that in the past have resulted in I-40 being closed for weeks. The project begins…
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Great Smoky Mountains Synchronous Fireflies Event

May 30, 2016

Great Smoky Mountains Synchronous Fireflies Event For 2016 The park service has announced the dates for the annual viewing of the Great Smoky Mountains synchronous fireflies event at Elkmont for June 2016. The dates for this year’s event will be Tuesday, May 31st through Tuesday, June 7th. Due to the popularity of this event and the crowds in past years this year’s access to Elkmont to view the synchronous fireflies was by a lottery. Parking Passes were distributed by a lottery at Recreation.gov in April. If you were lucky enough to get a parking pass through the lottery then the viewer…
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Sightseeing Helicopter Crash Kills Five

April 4, 2016

Sightseeing Helicopter Crash Kills Five In Pigeon Forge Five people have been killed as the result of a sightseeing helicopter crash in the Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area of East Tennessee. This happened today about 3:30pm. It has been reported by emergency responders on the scene that there is little left of the helicopter due to the crash and a fire at the scene in the woods. Multiple agencies responded including several local area Fire Departments as well as the Tennessee Forestry Division. The fire from the crash scene has spread to the surrounding wooded area at the crash site. There are reports by…
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GSMNP Most Visited National Park in 2015

February 24, 2016

GSMNP Most Visited Park in 2015 Of all the national parks in the United States the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the most visited national park in 2015. The Smokies beat out the second place park, the Grand Canyon National Park in Nevada, with the GSMNP having twice the number of visitors as the number 2 park. For the first time ever the GSMNP had over 10.7 million visitors in one year. Park officials think the jump in the number of visitors was in part due to lower gas prices, a warm winter and their national campaign to promote…
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Winter Storm Olympia

February 14, 2016

Winter Storm Olympia Bringing More Heavy Snow To GSM Winter Storm Olympia headed to the Great Smoky Mountains. Another Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina by the U.S. National Weather Center. Winter Storm Olympia will bring a mixed bag of winter weather to the area including snow, sleet and freezing rain over the next 2 days. (When did they start naming winter storms?!) The forecast warns of snow first, then turning to sleet and freezing rain by the time this storm ends Tuesday morning.  Frigid temperatures over…
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Smoky Mountain Snowdown: A Winter Heritage Festival

January 3, 2016

Townsend’s Second Smoky Mountain Snowdown: A Winter Heritage Festival Good Ole winter time has finally arrived in East Tennessee. Townsend, TN is having their second annual winter heritage festival Jan. 29-31, 2016. The three-day event takes place in several different locations in the Townsend area. With almost 50 activities planned it is sure to be a lot to see and do. Here is a copy of the information put out by Blount Partnership media room a few weeks ago. Check out the second annual Smoky Mountain Snowdown: A Winter Festival, Jan. 29-31, 2016. The three-day event takes place at various locations…
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GSM Events

Smoky Mountains Christmas Trip Report

December 9, 2015

A Recent Smoky Mountains Christmas Trip Report Last week we enjoyed a Great Smoky Mountains Christmas trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It had rained a lot the night before so riding through the Great Smoky Mountains by way of I-40 headed west was a nice drive with some pretty scenery. The rain water was  streaming down the rocks from high above and several areas displayed quite a waterfall show as we traveled west from North Carolina toward Tennessee. The rivers along I-40 where quite deep and the rapid flow of water over the rocks turned the usual meandering river into…
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