Fall Peak Color and Great Smoky Mountains National Park Government Shutdown 2013

More than a million people a year come to the Great Smoky Mountains to enjoy the fall color in the Mountains of East Tennessee and North Western North Carolina.

This year will be no different even though a government shutdown has closed many federal buildings and facilities.

The timing could not have been worse for a government shutdown that then start of fall color which is starting to show all along the high elevations and sporadically down to the valleys.

Clearly the fall leaf color is starting in the Smokies and the peak looks to be right on schedule between the 14th to the 29th with hopefully some nice colors in the valleys on up to the weekend of November 3rd.

The biggest problem we have will not be the lack of fall beauty nor the access to beautiful scenery or places to hike, picnic or fish, but the misunderstanding as to where to go to see the stunning fall beauty in God's country even if most of the Great Smoky Mountains national park is closed because of the government shuts down.

No one is expecting at even the worst case scenario that the government shutdown will extend all the way through the Smokies fall leaf season and if it does rest assured that there and hundreds and hundreds of miles of hiking trails open, streams to fish, rivers to white water raft on and spectacular roads to motor tour on with breathtaking longs range vistas, streams and waterfalls.

Let's first get the bad news out of the way. The Great Smoky Mountains national park is closed right now due to the government shutdown. No it does not mean you cannot enter the park anywhere, but is does mean that you are limited as to what you can in the park when you get here.

All of the Great Smoky Mountains national parks visitor and information centers are closed. The campgrounds, picnic areas and all other buildings and park facilities are closed.

Other than US441 also known as Newfound Gap Road that stretches from Cherokee North Carolina all the way over the mountain for 30 miles to Gatlinburg Tennessee and the small offshoot road the Gatlinburg Bypass, all roads in the park are closed to vehicles.

All sections of the park such as Cosby, Abrams Falls, Cades Cove, the Roaring Fork Motor nature trail are all behind locked gates. Officially, everything behind a closed gate in the park as long as Washington DC has closed all national parks is off limits to any use.

Originally even the scenic pull-outs and trail heads were blocked off with cones on US 441 and no one was allowed to park anywhere in the park. At one point the Newfound Gap parking area was closed along with the restrooms there. These restrictions have been lifted.

As it stands right now, you can pull over and park in any pull out or parking area along the entire length of Newfound Gap Road except for the barricaded areas which include: the Oconaluftee Visitor Center by the Cherokee entrance, the Chimneys hiking trail trailhead, the Alum Cave hiking trail trailhead and the Sugarlands Visitor Center and Park Headquarters near Gatlinburg Tennessee.

The national park get so many visitors so rescues on park trails and accidents on roadways are fairly common as there are just so many people using them.

With the government furlough and the fact that even all unpaid volunteers have been sent home and the park is operating with a skeleton crew which does not have enough manpower for a backcountry rescue let alone mutable rescues which can happen in a park that covers more than 1/2 million acres.

Presently, officially all trails and quiet walkways and streams are closed and are considered to be facilities such as a visitor center, however, other than the Chimneys, where ongoing trail repairs have stopped due to the closure and the Alum Cave Trail to Mt LeConte, hiking along the Appalachian Trail and the trails along Newfound Gap Road is being tolerated yet discouraged by park staff.

Hiking in the park right buts not only you, but the limited personnel that can rescue you in danger so we implore you to only make use of the park in a way that is safe and where it is being tolerated as long as the park is closed.

Besides the Great Smoky Mountains national park, the Smokies boast some other fantastic wilderness and scenic experiences such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Nantahala National Forest, The Fires Creek Wildlife Management Area, the Pisgah National Forest, Cherokee State Forest, Mount Mitchell State Park, Fort Loudon State Historic park and about a dozen more an additional hour or so away!

Lake Fontana and the surrounding area in the picture below taken today is also a fantastic area to motor, hike, bike and just explore.

Last but certainly not least is the great driving hiking and picnicking you can still do along all 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is run by the National park service so it is technically closed just as the Great Smoky Mountains national park is.

The entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway remains open however all facilities are closed. Don't count on grilling for your picnic but there are plenty of picnic tables that you can still use. In the Balsam Mountain area you should be able to catch a glimpse or 2 of the reintroduced elk that are in rut right now like the picture I took below yesterday.

Other than the federal government opening the Great Smoky Mountains national park back up on their own, the mayor of Blount County Tennessee is now offering his assistance to Washington to have his police and public safety personnel patrol and conduct rescues in part of the park so that they may be able to reopen that section or to provide funds to do so. The ball is in Washington’s court on this.

No matter what happens with Washington, the views will still be stunning and there will be lots to do both outdoors and indoors in the Great Smoky Mountains and what looks like will be a great fall with spectacular color that should last.