Tweet About Park Roads

If you're planning on driving in the area, be sure and check park road conditions via Twitter 

Motorists traveling across Great Smoky Mountains National Park on

Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) can expect to experience delays beginning March 1, 2011 when work begins to rehabilitate 2.4 miles of the road from the North Carolina state line at Newfound Gap northward into Tennessee.

Follow GSMA on Twitter too.  

Early Wildflowers    

The warm weather during the second half of February should bring some early spring wildflowers up from the ground in March. Look for trailing arbutus, star chickweed, sharp-lobed hepatica, spring-beauty, and some of the violets.  

The best early spring wildflower trail in the park is Chestnut Top, which begins at the Townsend "Y," just a mile into the park from Townsend, TN. Other good trails include Bradley Fork (starts in Smokemont Campground) and Porters Creek (in the Greenbrier area, near Gatlinburg, TN).

Redbud trees should be showing their magenta flowers by the second half of March. A drive on Little River Road will not disappoint.

We'll be keeping up with the spring wildflower bloomings this year on Facebook.

Our wildflower expert, Tom Harrington, is already out hunting for the first blooms but has found only a few so far. 

Enjoy Park Photos     

Join us and 133,000 fans of the park on Facebook 

You don't have to register with Facebook or give out any information to view 5,000 photos of the park.

Birds On The Way    

Indigo Bunting by Christine Hayden 

Spring means BIRDS! Already many of our resident birds are beginning their spring songs.  

Mourning doves are cooing and courting. Who will be the first to hear or see a spring migrant this year?  

Often the Louisiana Waterthrush is the first traveler from the south to be seen in the Smokies.  It is often noted flying over a stream or walking along the shore.  

Other March arrivals include the Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, Black and White Warbler, and the Blue-headed Vireo. 

Featured Products 

Hiking Trails of the Smokies Book 

Jr. Ranger Backpack

Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Wildflowers of the Smokies Book 

Mobile App For GSMNP   

Nomad's Smokies Visitor Guide is now available for Verizon iPhone users.  Get info on favorite destinations, black bears, park services, and much more! 

Cosby in the Park

May 21     

Join us as we celebrate the cultural history of this beautiful part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event is free to the public.  

Crafters, musicians, speakers, and storytellers will provide ample opportunities to learn about mountain culture. There will be children's activities, too.  

The event takes place in the Cosby campground picnic area and amphitheater from 10 am to 4 pm. For more information phone the Sugarlands Visitor Center at 865-436-1291. 

Business Members 

Cliff Dwellers Gallery

668 Glades Road

Gatlinburg TN 37738

tel: 865.436.6921

email:

info@cliffdwellersgallery.com 

www.cliffdwellersgallery.com

Since 1933 this historic gallery has featured fine crafts and art. You'll love the contemporary and traditional work of hand-woven items, pottery, glass, baskets, gourds, turned wood, marbling, wearable art, paintings, and more. Join Cliff Dwellers for classes, special events, and demonstrations. Open 7 days a week. A most interesting place! 

You can see all of GSMA's Business Members by clicking here. To see the discounts offered to GSMA members, go to our website and click here.

If you own a business and would like to be included in this newsletter and our website, contact Westy Fletcher at 423.487.3131 or

Smoky Mountain Memories 

2491 Newport Highway

Sevierville TN 37876
tel: 865.453.3196
smokymtnmemories@bellsouth.net

10% off to all GSMA members in good standing.

Richardson Turner Construction Company

Knoxville TN 37932

tel: 865.966.8999 

rturner@rtcc.net 

www.rtcc.net

New Cataloochee Reservation System   

Cataloochee Campground in North Carolina is now taking reservations at http://www.Recreation.gov/   

Campers are required to make advance reservations to stay at the 27-site campground when it reopens for the season on March 11.  

Historically, the popular but remote campground operated on a first-come-first-served basis, but this method will no longer be used in the future. 

Park Visitation Steady

Despite Extreme Weather 

During a year of weather extremes, landslides, and major construction projects, Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitation in 2010 pulled through to match 2009 levels.

Visitation through the Park's three main entrances and outlying areas in 2010 was 9,463,538, just slightly below 2009, the Park's 75th anniversary year which reported 9,491,436 visits.

Above average snowfall in the high elevations caused more frequent closures of roads January through March and then again in December.   

Both February and December marked record snowfall at Mt. LeConte (6,593 feet), 52 inches and 53 inches, respectively.  

Then during the summer a heat wave hit and the Park recorded a long string of 90-plus days.  

Autumn foliage, attracting hundreds of thousands leaf seekers, peaked on time in October and not in November as in past year.

Camping in the Park's 10 developed frontcountry campgrounds decreased 2%. 310,662 camper nights were recorded. Backcountry camper nights totaled 79,480.

Join us for a trip down Memory Lane as we revisit the new book 

"A Cades Cove Childhood" through the eyes of former resident J.C. McCaulley and his wife Margaret.

On Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 am find your way to the Training Room at Sugarlands Visitor Center and prepare for a glimpse into a different time. Hear about the way life was in this remote mountain community before the days of air conditioning, television, or cell phones.

These were days when folks actually cared about their neighbors and were compelled to live a life that encouraged independence, integrity, and courage in the face of adversity.

The short but nostalgic book will be available for sale at Sugarlands and the McCaulleys will be happy to sign a copy for you.

There is no fee for this program... just come and enjoy. Bring the young ones, too, so they can see what it was like to grow up in the truly "good old days".

This program is sponsored by Great Smoky Mountains Association.

Wildflower Pilgrimage photo by Valerie Polk

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is an annual five-day event in Great Smoky Mountains National Park consisting of a variety of wildflower, fauna, and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.

Most programs are outdoors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, while indoor offerings are held in various venues throughout Gatlinburg, TN. Join us for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies on April 26-May 1, 2011!

On-site registration will begin Tuesday, April 25, 2011 at 5:00 PM in the Mills Conference Center, Gatlinburg TN. View the on-site registration schedule or register now online at

www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org 

Online registration will begin on Monday February 14, 2011 at 9 AM Eastern Time (ET) and remain open until Wednesday April 20, 2011.

In the meantime, enjoy this video  from last year's Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to help staff the information center  at Clingmans Dome when it opens on Friday, April 1.

For more information, contact the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at (828) 497-1904.

"We're very pleased to again partner with Great Smoky Mountains Association to offer the public a variety of musical styles for this year's 'Music of the Mountains festival," said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.

"Our staff has lined up a wide spectrum of old-time, traditional, and bluegrass music performers. With the change to an all day festival we hope to allow more of our visitors to experience the rich traditions of mountain music."

The event starts at 10 am with an array of traditional musical performances at Sugarlands Visitor Center Theater. Seating in the theater at Sugarlands (865-436-1291) is limited to 160 persons per concert, and available for free on a "first come, first served" basis.

This year we have expanded our annual event to three days.

• Friday, April 8 at the Townsend Heritage Center in Townsend, TN
• Saturday, April 9 at Sugarlands Visitor Center from 10-4 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Saturday night at Gatlinburg
• Sunday, April 10 at Cosby

Come enjoy some of the region's best and most authentic live mountain music and learn about the cultural history of the area from leading experts.

Discover Life in America is proud to be putting on the 14th annual All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Conference this spring.

The conference will be held over three days, the 7th, 8th, and 9th of April, in beautiful Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  The Salamander Ball will take place on April 8.

Learn about biodiversity, climate change, and lots more.  Although the main focus of the event is the presentation of scientific literature, past conferences have included field trips in the Smokies, nature hiking and photography, silent auctions, book signings, and general good times.

The conference is open to scientists, researchers, educators, the press, and interested members of the public.  Registration closes on March 17.

Photo by Terry Maddox

At the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center the museum installation will commence on February 23. We can't wait for you to see it all when it's finished!  

Photo by Valerie Polk 

A new exhibit is on view at our Sevierville Visitor Center store. This stunning collection of landscape photographs by Stan Jorstad is worth a stop.  

Watch this short video to get a sneak peak of the exhibit, and stop by the next time you're in town to see it for yourself!  3099 Winfield Dunn Parkway (Hwy. 66) in Kodak, 1.25 miles from Interstate Exit 407.