Latest news stories from around the Great Smoky Mountains.
It’s that time of the year, and the hills are alive not with music but “sang” hunters. As of now a dried pound of “green gold” is bringing about $500 and might rise before the ginseng season closes for good. Here are some random thoughts and observations regarding “sang” that might be of interest.
BY WES WADE wes.wade@thedailytimes.com Up until Thursday one would be hard-pressed to find anything in the Smoky Mountains to give 12-year Townsend resident Kerry Shibley a fright. Yet a large black bear that’s apparently taken a recent liking to Shibley’s property has shifted the outdoor lover’s cautious apprehension to something closer to a rational anxiety.
There are over 550 miles of hiking trails open to horseback riding in the Smoky Mountains and they offer some of the best riding available in the Eastern United States. If you have your own horse that you want to ride in the park you should consult a Great Smokies trail map to learn which
Chad Hunter, a 23-year old University of Tennessee student who was reported missing by his family has been safely airlifted out of the park. Hunter left for a backcountry hike into the Great Smoky Mountains on Monday, March 14 but when he failed to return at a predetermined time his family contacted park officials and
Most campgrounds and secondary roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will open for the spring beginning Friday, March 11.
Located just a few miles from Gatlinburg, Laurel Falls is without a doubt the most visited waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains. A 1.3 mile paved trail leads to the falls and on most days you’ll have plenty of company on the trail unless you visit early in the morning or in the offseason. The
Located near the beginning of the Cades Cove Loop Road, the John Oliver Cabin was built in the early 1820’s by John and Lucretia Oliver, the first permanent white settlers of Cades Cove. A short trail leading from a parking area off the Cades Cove Loop Road will lead you back to the John Oliver
Without a doubt the most famous inhabitant of the Great Smoky Mountains is the Black Bear. It’s estimated that roughly 1,800 inhabit the park. Black bears average 200 to 400 pounds in weight and can reach six feet in length. Among the best places to see black bears in the Smoky Mountains and are in
theDailyTimes.com A Knoxville man was killed in a motor vehicle accident Tuesday morning in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Paul J. Rodgers, 47, was killed in the single-vehicle wreck on Laurel Creek Road about 5.5 miles west of the Townsend junction in Blount County. READ FULL ARTICLE
Even with a possible glitch in counting the number of visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains, there’s an overall increase in the number of people coming to the national park, officials said. Records show a 15.1 percent increase in visitors in June of this year over last June, and a 3.3 percent overall increase for
