To Knoxville
In Spring, Timing is Everything
To I-40
To Newport
ay
Exit 443
Hartford
CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST
Exit 447
Park View
411 441
PIGEON FORGE Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail: Paved, narrow, 5.5 mile one-way road offers old-growth forest, waterfalls and historic buildings. No RVs allowed. Opens April 10.
Gatlinburg Welcome Center National Park Information Center
321
Pittman Center
73
321
Cosby
Hen Wallow Falls a il
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Exit 451
32
Gab
TENNESSEE N OR TH C AROL I
Mount Cammerer Mount Cammerer Trail
Big Creek
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40
Tr
MARYVILLE
es M ounta i n
i ch
ala
Andrews Bald
at
i
Ro
Tw e n
ty m
Twentymile Cascade
Fontana Dam
Fontana
A
Lake
Trail Cre
441
Restrooms are available at visitor centers, Cades Cove and Smokemont campgrounds, Cades Cove, Deep Creek and Greenbrier picnic areas, Newfound Gap and Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. Vault toilets are also available at Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Abrams Falls and Clingmans Dome trailheads.
Loop Trail
Juney Whank Falls
La
ke
vie
Juney Whank Falls Trail
wD
Indian Creek Falls Tom Branch Falls
CHEROKEE
H RT
al a
g e R id
e
Parkw ay
CHEROKEE INDIAN RESERVATION
Soco Gap
Cherokee Museum
Horseback Riding (rental) Picnic Areas
Major Hwys
Deep Creek
Major Roads
441
Paved Roads Gravel Roads
74
Trails Spring Auto Tours
23 74
SYLVA 143
28
WAYNESVILLE
NANTAHALA
NATIONAL
FOREST
441
23
Great Mountain Views Wildflowers
B w ar k id ge P lue R
©GSMA2019
Dellwood
Nature Trails
Trail
Santeetlah Lake
129
Maggie Valley
To Asheville
Camping
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JOYCE KILMER - SLICKROCK WILDERNESS AREA
276
19
r
Swain County Visitor Center
28
ch
Blu
ia
NO
Ap p
Mingo Falls
19
BRYSON CITY
FONTANA VILLAGE
Balsam Mountain
ad
Oconaluftee River Trail
Deep
eT
ra i
l
Hazel Creek Trail
Exit 20
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Bone Valley Trail
Heintooga/Round Bottom Road: Opens May 15.
H
Smokemont
Oconaluftee Mill Visitor Center
Cataloochee PISGAH Valley Overlook NATIONAL FOREST
Co ve Ro Cre ad ek
Smokemont Loop Trail
Co ve
PA R K
Chasteen Creek Falls
Bi g
Clingmans Dome Road: 7-mile paved road leads to the Clingmans Dome trailhead. A very steep, halfmile walk takes you to Clingmans Dome tower and the highest point in the Smokies (6,643’). Opens March 30.
Kan
nd Bot ou a/R og o t in He
Newfound Gap Road: This paved road is the only route over the Great Smoky Mountains. It stretches for 31 miles between Gatlinburg and Cherokee and climbs from an elevation of 1,300’ to 5,046’ (at Newfound Gap).
Kephart Prong Trail Tr
R
n un t ai Mo
Rich
Ap p
Newfound Gap
rk
Par k (
R
O
N LI
Charlies Bunion
M O U N TA I N S
Thunderhead Mountain
il
CA
TE
NN
E
Trail
Chimney Tops Chimney Tops Trail
N AT I O N A L
an
R tooga idge Road ein
SE
Wolf Ridge Trail
Lake Cheoah
Alum Cave Bluffs
Oconaluftee Valley Overlook
SMOKY
Mount Guyot
tom Rd.
ES
Twentymile Loop Trail
Deals Gap
re sC ke
Fern Branch Falls
Mouse Creek Falls
Cataloochee Valley (closed through May 20): 8 miles from I-40 (including 3 miles on a narrow gravel road). The short road through the valley offers wildlife viewing (including elk) and access to a historic church, school and homes.
Mingus
129
Calderwood Lake
p Trail
ek T
Alum Cave Trail
il Tra
m to
l e s) hic ve
Mount Le Conte
r ve
d
ed
b er Ga
re
Rainbow Falls
Clingmans Dome
Cades Cove Loop Road: 11-mile one-way loop road offers wildlife viewing and access to a historic grist mill, churches and log homes. Allow at least 2-3 hours.
ad
or ot
cu m
Tri lli u bo Tram Gap il Tra w F a ll il s
Ri
tR
G R E AT
a Appal chian Trail
s clo
Ro
Ja
Lit tle
Middle Prong Trail
il Tra lls
Pa
n r so
ch
Cu
Carlos Campbell Overlook
Ramsey Cascades
Porters Flat
Grotto Falls
Road
Maloney Point
Elkmont
GSM Institute at Tremont
m sF a
Chilhowee
n B ra
Little
Lynn Camp Prong Cascades
Cades Cove Visitor Center
CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST
Meigs Falls
l
on
Ab ra
Abrams Falls
Abrams Creek
“According to the National Phenology Network, trees in our region are greening up 15 to 20 days earlier,” said Paul Super, the park’s research coordinator. Caterpillars, which dine voraciously on tree leaves, appear to be likewise emerging earlier.
Trail
Sugarlands Visitor Center
il ra
op Trai ut T stn Ch e
Fighting Creek Trail
Laurel Falls Laurel Falls r Rive
Tre m
Look Rock Tower
Little Greenbrier School
Po r t e r s C
o
Heritage Center
ad
Cataract Falls
Little Brier Gap Trail
73
Townsend Rich Mountain Road: Opens April 10.
321
Little Greenbrier Road: Opens April 10.
s Trail ade asc Ramsey C
Red light #8
in Ra
th
GATLINBURG
Wears Valley
Townsend Visitors Center
i lls
Greenbrier
RVs
o Fo
Foothills Parkway
No
To Chattanooga
ay
Lo w Tra Gap il
Fo
F
r kw s Pa hill t oo
ek Tra il
Walland
129 411
Big
ek Trail Cre
Spring wildflowers have adapted over millions of years to rely on soil temperature and moisture as their primary gauges for timing blooms. Since their sole objective in creating a beautiful flower is to attract pollinators and make viable seeds, timing is everything. Blooms generally only last a few days, so flowering before the pollinators— butterflies, bumblebees, moths, ants, beetles, hummingbirds—show up can be disastrous.
Earlier springs also mean trees are flowering earlier, making them vulnerable to ‘late’ frosts. Such miscues can greatly diminish the harvests of cherries, nuts, and acorns on which wildlife—and humans—rely for food.
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kw Par i ll s
416
129
Most of the rise is reflected in the morning lows. “We’re not getting as cold at night,” said Jim Renfro, the park’s air quality specialist and the person in charge of collecting and managing the park’s weather data.
Unfortunately, the migratory songbirds that feed on the caterpillars are flitting about in the tropics during March and April and have no idea how warm it is in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. “They rely on changing day length to trigger their migration,” Super said. Consequently, the synchronization of trees, bugs, and birds is being disrupted.
o Fo
Cosby
wa y
id you know that, in the past 50 years, spring in the Smoky Mountains has become significantly earlier and warmer? At Sugarlands Visitor Center, since 1970, Aprils have warmed by an average of 4.1°F, Mays by 5°F, and Junes by 4°F.
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SEVIERVILLE
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