FALL EDITION - 2023
Thoroughly modern: Roamstead taking camping to next level
Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin
LumiNights
Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg
Smoky Mountains Trail Map
Hot Springs Trail Map
Wears Valley Fall Festival
Smoky Mountain Fall Festival at Ober Mountain
Duane Uhls
Publisher & Editor
Dave Ruthenberg Managing Editor
Kathy Hemsworth
Writer/Photographer
Jeannie Baitinger
Writer/Photographer
4 8 10 11 14 16
Angel Dykes
Account Executive
Thoroughly modern: Roamstead taking camping to next level
Bush’s history in Chestnut Hill
Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin
LumiNights
Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair
The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg
Smoky Mountains Trail Map
Hot Springs Trail Map
Texas barbecue comes to the Smokies
Abby Swearingen
Account Executive
Wears Valley Fall Festival
Penny Webb
Account Executive
Hot Springs offers a variety of activities
Smoky Mountain Fall Festival at Ober Mountain
Angie Campise
Creative Services/ Production
2023 Visiting
Best time to see fall foliage in the Smokies
Parking passes now in use at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A trip out west for Thomas and Shannon Connolly convinced them that camping needed a serious upgrade, so they decided to act.
The Chattanooga couple purchased the former Jellystone campground in Cosby and rechristened it Roamstead Campground in late 2022 with the objective of modernizing the camping experience. They are hoping the Smoky Mountains location is just the first.
“We hope to be outside of national parks and other major outdoor destinations,” Shannon Connolly said. “We’re currently searching for our second location.”
Located at 4946 Hooper Highway in Cosby, Roamstead is now offering a variety of unique camping experiences. You can bring your tent or RV or you can rent either a yurt, a hotel lodge room or a cabin with a babbling brook rushing by.
Amenities include Wi-Fi, a heated salt water pool, a covered pavilion, a playground and laundry facilities. The family dog is welcome. Fishing is allowed in the
This is the inside of one of the yurts at Roamstead. It has heat, air conditioning and a mini fridge. streams at Roamstead under Tennessee guidelines, but it is “catch and release” only as part of a conservation effort.
There is a restaurant on site with reasonable prices for those that don’t want to cook. Roamstead also sells beer and has applied for liquor by the drink, or campers can bring their own. In the evenings there are campfires where people meet to socialize. Of course, one might even see a bear or two as Cosby has one of the highest bear populations in East Tennessee.
Being just a half-hour from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Roamstead is in the heart of nature while still being close to area attractions. There are three lodge rooms with hotel amenities on the second floor of the lodge for those who prefer to stay indoors. There are 60 tent and RV sites, nine yurts and 18 cabins including the original cabin from the 1800s. Complimentary coffee and granola bars are served in the mornings. All cabins, yurts and rooms also have mini refrigerators as well as heat and air conditioning. The grounds and facilities are well kept with everything updated and modernized.
A point of interest at Roamstead is Albright Grove on the Madderon Ball Trail, which is a seven-mile loop to
A yurt available for camping at Roamstead.
hike. There you will see the biggest trees in the Smokies. Additionally, Roamstead has also partnered with Friends of the Smokies, joining its mission to preserve and protect the Great Smoky Mountains while helping to spread public awareness.
A portion of Roamstead’s profits are donated to Friends of the Smokies.
“We have made major changes with modern updated facilities. This is where camping meets modern and glamor,” said Gavin Foust, assistant manager. “There is an option for anyone who wants to come out and see the beauty of East Tennessee.
“You can stay in a lodge room with hotel amenities, rent a cabin on the stream or even stay in a yurt. You can bring a tent or an RV. All of our units have heat and air conditioning, even the yurts. In fact, the yurts also have beds while being a very sturdy permanent tent set up with a porch. But we have also preserved and are updating the original cabin from the 1800s which will be available to rent soon.”
“We are creating a new generation of conservation and a love of the great outdoors. It is our hope that this will be the first Roamstead location with more to come near national state parks,” said Shannon Connolly.
“We fell in love with camping with our kids when they were very young and shortly after purchased our first camper,” she said. “We began checking off national parks with them.
“In June 2021, we took our first extended trip out
west, traveling for a month in our camper and visiting all of the national parks in Colorado and Utah. In planning for that trip, we were just really disappointed in the campgrounds that are out there. Most are mom and pop properties that haven’t seen renovations in years. And there’s often a different level of cleanliness expectations in campgrounds. Bath houses and other common facilities are often nowhere near as clean as you would expect to find in a typical hotel. We just didn’t understand why there was such a disparity between the campground experience and the boutique hotel experience. So we really started researching what was out there and coming up short. Finally we just decided that surely we could do it better and make the kind of place we want to camp at.” For more information, visit www.roamstead.com.
CHESTNUT HILL - While most people know the name of Bush’s for its canned beans, it has long had a role in the history of the area. The Bush’s company history started before the plant opened its doors.
A.J. Bush was born in Chestnut Hill, located in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, in 1867, and he only left the community to attend Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City. He married Sallie Ketner in 1891, and they had six children. Both were interested in their community, and because he wanted to help his local community, he took an interest in trade business.
He established the A.J. Bush and Company General Store, which offered a place to sell local goods as well as goods from other locations.
Because of the need for jobs in the area, Bush decided to open a hosiery factory. As construction got underway, Stokely Brothers Tomato Cannery in Newport approached Bush with an offer. If Bush provided a building and workers, they would supply the equipment for him to open a cannery.
The partnership came to fruition, and in 1904 the cannery opened, providing the jobs the communi-
ty needed. In four short years, Bush bought out the Stokely Brothers partnership interest and formed a business with his sons, Fred and Claude, creating Bush Brothers and Company.
The cannery did well, and they worked with distributors in many areas, including Knoxville as well as Asheville, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina. As World War I came around, the demand for canned goods increased, but as the war ended, so did the demand for canned goods.
The family business was incorporated and management was turned over to A.J. Bush’s sons, while the senior Bush focused on operating the general store. By 1930, the cannery produced and distributed a variety of canned products.
During the Great Depression, the company sought out affordable products to offer the country. Among those goods were hominy, sauerkraut, and pork and beans. When the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded Douglas Lake, a lot of prime farmland was lost and the Oak Grove plant of Bush Brothers was also lost.
Continue to page 9
The historic Bush home is across the road from the visitor center. It has a Christmas open house every year.From page 8
During 1944, the company bought a cannery in Blytheville, Arkansas, so it could increase production figures again. While various vegetables were being canned, it focused on beans and hominy, which were its top sellers. In 1947, the board of directors chose to go with a new identity, Bush’s Best, and the double B logo that became known nationwide.
It was the 1990s when the baked beans market transformed Bush’s into a champion in the canning industry.
The company’s headquarters are now in Knoxville, but the Chestnut Hill factory has grown. The general store is also in operation, and the Bush family home is open during the Christmas holidays for tours.
Thousands of people make their way to the visitor’s center in Chestnut Hill each year where the general store and a diner welcome guests.
The museum and the store is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The cafe’s hours are seasonal, open from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. January through March and 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. April through December.
To schedule a tour group for 30 or more people at the museum or cafe, call (865) 509-3077.
For additional information, go online to bushbeans.com/en_US/about-us/visitor-center.
PIGEON FORGE — Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health has become one of the park’s most popular events since its inception in 2017.
Highlighting that popularity, Great Pumpkin LumiNights — part of the Harvest Festival presented by Humana — was once again nominated for the USA Today 10Best Award for Best Theme Park Halloween event.
Dollywood’s Harvest Festival, which runs through Oct. 30, provides fabulous fall family fun, with Great Pumpkin LumiNights serving as a great glowing end to the evening. Dollywood stays open until 9 p.m. every night during the festival, allowing families more time to enjoy thousands of carved pump-
kins throughout the park. Families will bask in the glow of thousands of intricately-carved pumpkins as they wander through displays in Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass, Wildwood Grove and Craftsman’s Valley areas. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities to create new memories together. Artists from a number of genres provide hundreds of performances throughout the festival, while visiting craftspeople display their talents for guests to see. Special harvest-themed menu items from Dollywood’s award-winning culinary team also are a delight to enjoy. There is no doubt that each day is a picture-perfect opportunity for families to enjoy the experiences
of a Smoky Mountain harvest.
For more information about Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights and the Harvest Festival, please visit Dollywood. com or download the Dollywood app.
Filling the 150,000 square feet of downtown Gatlinburg Convention Center, the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair hosts artisans and craftsmen from all over the nation. Two hundred booths with unique and oneof-a-kind handmade products are beautifully displayed, as these skilled craftspeople demonstrate their talents.
Each participant is subject to a rigorous jury process to ensure the uniqueness and quality of their respective products. All items represented are handmade and of ut-
most quality and without duplication. Look for exceptional pottery pieces, molded leather, copper art, local candy makers, and many more unique items. There is something for everyone at the fair. Be sure to stop by one or all of our daily music shows included with the price of admission. Check out the stage and enjoy contemporary country, bluegrass, and your favorite gospel tunes at noon and 3 p.m. daily. Additional performances are to be announced for days with extended hours.
Admission is $10 for adults, children 17 and under free with paid adults.
Concessions are available for sale through the Gatlinburg Convention Center.
The Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair usually takes most of the day to
see. If you didn’t quite get through it all, multi-day passes are available at the Craftsmen’s Fair office located at the end of aisle 500.
An exuberant mountain stream gave this area its unusual name. Roaring Fork is one of the larger and faster flowing mountain streams in the park. Drive this road after a hard rain and the inspiration behind the name will be apparent.
The narrow, winding, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
invites you to slow down and enjoy the forest and historic buildings of the area. The 5.5-mile-long, oneway, loop road is a favorite side trip for many people who frequently visit the Smokies. It offers rushing mountain streams, glimpses of old-growth forest, and
Continue to page 12
This waterfall is within walking distance of the Ephraim Bales cabin off the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. The water at the base of the waterfall is reportedly eight feet deep.from 1890
Continue from page 11
a number of well-preserved log cabins, gristmills, and other historic buildings. Please note that the road is closed in winter.
Before entering the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a stop at the Noah “Bud” Ogle self-guiding nature trail offers a walking tour of an authentic mountain farmstead and surrounding hardwood forest. Highlights include a streamside tubmill and the Ogle’s handcrafted wooden flume plumbing system. Just beyond the Ogle farmstead is the trailhead for Rainbow Falls, one of the park’s most popular waterfalls. The hike to the falls is 5.4 miles roundtrip and is considered moderately strenuous. If you plan to attempt this hike, be sure to wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots and carry plenty of water and snacks. The entrance to the motor nature trail is located a short distance past the parking areas for Rainbow Falls. Several homes and other buildings have been preserved in this area. The trailhead for Grotto Falls, another of the park’s most popular waterfalls, is located along the route. And a “wet weather” waterfall called Place of a Thousand Drips provides a splendid finale to your journey. An inexpensive booklet available at the beginning of the motor nature trail details landmarks along the route.
Directions To access Roaring Fork, turn off the main parkway in Gatlinburg, TN at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail Road to the Cherokee Orchard entrance to the national park. Just beyond the Rainbow Falls trailhead you have the option of taking the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (closed in winter). Please note that buses, trailers, and motor homes are not permitted on the motor nature trail.
The Ephraim Bales cabin is along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Ephraim and Minerva Bales raised their 9 children in the small cabin. They owned 72 acres, farming 30 of those and leaving the rest wooded. The cabin is one of more than 80 historic buildings in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The family lived in the cabin
until about 1930. Ephraim Bales died in 1926.
NEWPORT - Smoky Mountain Diner is serving up barbecue, side dishes, ice cream and more at its new location at 571 West Broadway in Newport.
The restaurant was originally in Cosby, but Rosemarie Veliz, the manager, explained that the restaurant there was not big enough.
“We had been looking for a bigger location for a couple of months, then we drove by and saw this location. We stopped, looked through the windows and then made a call,” she said.
She said that their Cosby location, which was near the post office, only had five tables. Veliz said they had to sometimes turn people away and often, they had to throw out food because the restaurant was so small they couldn’t accommodate enough people.
“We named the restaurant Smoky Mountain Diner because you could see the Smoky Mountains from the back door of the restaurant,” she said. “We thought this would be the perfect location for us.”
The new location, which once housed Andy’s Restaurant, can accommodate about 80 diners at a time, she
said.
John and Iris Shield are managing members. Veliz said that the original location in Cosby saw a major increase in traffic when they started serving up barbecue.
The restaurant is open six days a week. Hours for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday the restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s closed on Wednesdays.
Smokey Mountain Diner also serves up a breakfast buffet, which offers everything from the breakfast menu, including pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausage, gravy, biscuits and more for $11.99 per person.
Children under 8 eat free.
Lunch and dinner offerings are barbecue in nature. They offer ribs, brisket, pulled pork and sausage. John Shield, the Texas barbecue expert, said he hopes to offer turkey in the future, but he wants to find quality meat that is not processed. They also offer wings and a kids’ chicken tender plate.
Chelsie Arms, in the foreground, is shown anxiously awaiting dinner at Smoky Mountain
From page 18
They have an ice cream parlor in the front area, which once housed the host stand. They serve up ice cream and donuts. Karen Shield, John’s mother, often greets customers, and she takes care of the ice cream parlor.
“The first day we were open here, we did a barbecue tasting. We gave away 500 pounds of free barbecue in an hour,” Veliz said. “We are now serving at least 300 customers per day, and it continues to grow. We have been surprised by the reception.”
She said that catering may be in the restaurant’s future. They did prepare 200 barbecue sandwiches for an event recently.
Whenever customers enter the restaurant, they are greeted with, “Are you hungry?” When they respond that they are, they are told that they are in the right place.
As the manager, Veliz also serves as the head cook. She prepares the breakfast buffet and the side dishes as well. Some of the side dishes include tater tot casserole, brisket macaroni and cheese, spicy corn, green
beans, potato salad and coleslaw.
“Anything barbecue on our menu is really popular,” she said. “There isn’t a set favorite yet.”
Of Italian descent, Veliz loves to make pizza. She said homemade pizza will be added to the menu. She said fresh, handmade dough is used for the pizzas.
The menu is posted on the diner’s Facebook page. You can call in an order at (423) 532-7239.
Sixteen acres of family fun including crafters, interactive activities, entertainment, children’s events and great food awaits all in attendance October 20 – 22 at the 10th annual Wears Valley Fall Festival coordinated by Keep Sevier Beautiful. The wide array of activities at this year’s event will give families a great way to make memories, experience a variety of fun activities and enjoy the incredible beauty of fall in the Smokies.
This year’s event begins on Friday, Oct. 20 and continues through Sunday, Oct. 22. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The festival site is next to Tennessee State Bank off Route 321 in Wears Valley in Sevier County.
“This Fall Festival truly offers something for everyone,” said Lisa Bryant, executive director of Keep Sevier Beautiful. “Anyone wanting to enjoy the true Smoky Mountain Heritage can find it here. The most unique element is something only Keep Sevier Beautiful can do – teaching how to be more sustainable at every turn.”
There is a full lineup of entertainment this year including a concert by a local favorite, Jimbo Whaley, who will be performing on stage Sunday, Oct. 22 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Also in attendance over the three day
event will be Elvis, Kevin Wilson, Olwen Walsh, Sharon Tarwater, Jesse Priest, Luke Whitaker, Brand New Box of Matches, Timothy Chandler and Kayla McKinney. Bring your lawn chairs and come out for some great entertainment, food and craft vendors.
The Wears Valley Fall Festival is the biggest annual fundraiser for Keep Sevier Beautiful. For more information, visit www.WearsValleyFallFest.com.
Keep Sevier Beautiful, a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, is a volunteer-based organization focusing on waste reduction/recycling, litter prevention and beautifying public spaces through education and community based programs. KSB’s goal is to protect the natural beauty of the area that millions of visitors come to see each year.
Travel east on Highway 25-70 out of Newport and you will enter Madison County, North Carolina. Hot Springs is a town in Madison County and is consid ered part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hot Springs is a small town in the mountains of West ern North Carolina that has much to offer visitors. The town’s population was 528 as of 2021. Shopping, art work, food, music, hiking, fishing and the hot springs spa are all ready and waiting for guests to enjoy. The naturally warmed mineral waters of Hot Springs have been appreciated for centuries. The hot springs were first discovered by Native Americans who be lieved the warm waters possessed healing powers. Signs of a Native American presence in the area dates
Continue to page 21
Downtown Hot Springs and the French Broad River as seen from an Appalachian Trail viewing point. (Photo credit: Hot Springs Tourism and Welcome Center)back at least 5,000 years with pictographs on Paint Rock, which researchers believe was a stopping point for meditation and prayer on the way to the springs. Both Broadwing Farms and Hot Springs Resort and
Spa offer access to the hot mineral springs. There are numerous hot tubs available for soaking by the hour at The Resort. Broadwing Farms has private hot tubs available for those who book one of their cabins for a stay.
Continue to page 22
There is a visitor center in Hot Springs. Stop in there to get information to help you on your visit or to plan your stay in the area.
Madison County also is an area filled with history. The county has a population of more than 25,000 people and other towns include Marshall, Mars Hill, Spring Creek, Joe, Trust, Luck, Walnut and Whiterock. On a backroad outside of Hot Springs is a historical marker for the Shelton Laurel Massacre. The massacre involved the killing of several men and boys who were suspected of Unionist sympathies in 1863. The massacre led to the county’s moniker “Bloody Madison.”
The area has a folk tradition, and in 1916, English folklorist Cecil Sharp visited the area to collect ballads. The musical traditions are based on the Scotch-Irish customers of the settlers. There are music and art festivals held in the area throughout the year.
Madison County, which was established in 1851 from Buncombe and Yancey counties, consists of 449.57 square miles.
The Hot Springs Resort and Spa is one of two places visitors can access the hot mineral springs in Hot Springs, North Carolina.An unusual rock memorial in Fairview Methodist Church Cemetery in Hot Springs is in honor of Dr. Edward J. Peck, who was born in 1859 and died in 1928. The mountains of Madison County are visible from Hot Springs, North Carolina.
Smoky Mountain Fall Festival at Ober Mountain is a celebration for the whole family as Ober Mountain presents a month-long event full of music, food and fun. The Smoky Mountain Fall Festival at Ober Mountain begins on Friday, Sept. 29 and continues through Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
October is a time to celebrate the change of the season at Ober Mountain. It all begins on the Ober Mountain Aerial Tramway. As you soar 2.1 miles, take in the amazing views of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. There is no other vantage point that compares to the view from the aerial tram!
Once on top of Ober Mountain, the Smoky Mountain Fall Festival kicks off Sept. 29 with a Full Moon Concert Series. Heart Breakers, a Heart tribute band will perform from 7 p.m.- 9.pm. in the Ober Mountain Special Event Lounge.
Bring the whole family to enjoy a mountaintop of fun. Climb your way to the top of hay mountain and slide down. Jump on a pedal bike as you make your way around the hay track. If you like a puzzle, see if you can find your way out of the hay maze.
As part of the Fall Festival Celebration, enjoy specialty
Continue on page 24
From page 23
food items including a schnitzel sandwich, Ober Dunkel brats, pumpkin spice fudge, pretzels with Yee-Haw Dunkel beer cheese, pumpkin juice and more. Cheers to many beers including German beers: Hofbrau and Spaten, East Tennessee local Yee-Haw Brewing Co. beer and more.
Ober Mountain will host a skate party at the ice rink each day throughout the Fall Festival. Ice skate under the lights and enjoy music provided by a rink-side DJ with concert quality sound and lights.
The Smoky Mountain Fall Festival at Ober Mountain fun continues with Friday night movie nights under the stars on the 22-foot LED digital screen.
The lineup includes:
Oct. 6 – Hocus Pocus
Oct. 13 – Friday the 13th
Oct. 20 – Hotel Transylvania
Oct. 27 – Rocky Horror Picture Show
Fall festivities include a weekend Giant Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 20 – 22. You don’t want to miss giant 1,000-pound pumpkins being carved. You will want to make sure you’re on hand to vote for your favorite.
The Ober Mountain Full Moon Concert Series wraps up the month-long Smoky Mountain Fall Festival with a concert on top of the mountain. Pandora’s Box, an Aerosmith
For the most up-to-date information on everything Ober Mountain, visit obergatlinburg.com.
The notion that peak color season in Great Smoky Mountains National Park happens in mid-October is a misconception. The marvelous colors of autumn actually light up the Smokies for seven weeks or more as the peak elevations move down the mountainsides from the highest elevations to the foothills.
Autumn in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a special time when visitors enjoy leaves as fall colors travel down the mountainsides from the highest elevations to the foothills. The kaleidoscope of fall colors in the Smoky Mountains is magnificent and varied because of the amazing diversity of trees. Some 100 species of native trees live
in the Smokies, the vast majority of which are deciduous. The timing of fall color change depends upon so many variables that the exact dates of “peak” season are impossible to predict in advance.
In the Smoky Mountains, autumn color displays above 4,000 feet start as early as mid-September with the turning of yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple, hobblebush, and pin cherry, clearly visible from such vantage points as Clingmans Dome Road.
The fall color display usually reaches peak at middle and lower elevations between mid-October and early
Continue on page 26
November. This is the park’s most spectacular display as it includes such colorful trees as sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple, and the hickories. By the beginning of October, trees in the Smoky Moun tains high country that are now showing bright fall colors are the yellows of American beech and yellow birch and different shades of reds on mountain ash, pin cherry and mountain maple. In the lower elevations, a few early color changing species such as sourwood and sumac are show ing bright reds now, but are scattered. Some dogwoods and maples are beginning to turn different colors in some areas as well. Fall wildflowers such as goldenrod and as ters are colorful throughout the park and some blueberry and blackberry shrubs are also changing color, as well as the Virginia creeper plant.
Bright golds and yellows of American beech, yellow birch, and yellow buckeye and different shades of reds on mountain ash, pin and black cherry and mountain ma ple are painting the landscape. The big rounded leaves of witch-hobble are showing fine displays of color ranging from yellow to red.
The majority of the deciduous forest at 4,000 feet elevation and below is still predominantly green, but now with splashes of color dotting the slopes. Sourwood and sumac are showing bright reds; some dogwoods and maples are turning different colors in some areas as well. Fall wildflowers such as mountain gentian, black cohosh, and goldenrod are colorful throughout the park and some blueberry and blackberry shrubs are also in color, as well as the Virginia creeper plant.
Because the Great Smoky Mountains provide a range of elevations between 875 and 6,643 feet in the Park with differing moisture conditions and habitats, many trees will still produce significant color as the Park moves into its peak autumn season. Recommendations: High elevation trails such as Sugarland Mountain Trail and Appalachian Trail, accessed at Clingmans Dome or Newfound Gap, would be good hikes for this time of year. Also, roads leading into the high country, including Newfound Gap Road,
Heintooga Ridge Road, Foothills Parkway West and East , and Rich Mountain Road out of Cades Cove, are the best
options for seeing fall colors in the Smoky Mountains. As October begins to fade away up top, autumn colors at mid-elevations, from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, are at or slightly past peak and are very impressive. Reds are more pronounced now than in recent years, especially on the North Carolina side of the park. Colors at the very highest elevations (above 5,500) are now past peak.
At the lower elevations of the Smoky Mountains, fall colors are quickly developing. The first frost of the season occurred this week in the low elevations, so the remaining leaves should begin to change color within a few days. Black gum, dogwood, sumacs, and sourwood trees continue to show vivid reds. Golds are present on tuliptree, black walnut, birch, beech, spicebush, and hickories. The peak of color at the lower elevations is still a few days away and will probably spill over into November.
It is not unusual for some autumn color to last through certainly the first week of November in the Smoky Mountains, but if the weather cooperates autumn displays could last through mid-November as well.
Starting March 1, 2023, Great Smoky Mountains National Park began charging a parking fee to help with the cost of upkeep and facility needs. All proceeds from the purchase of parking passes goes back into the park.
The parking fee structure is $5 daily, $15 for a tag for up to seven days, and $40 for an annual tag. There will be no parking cost for Tribal citizens in the national park. This fee only applies to parking. As always, there is no cost to drive the roads. Short-duration parking of 15 minutes or less will not require a parking pass.
You can purchase the $40 annual parking tags online at smokiesinformation.org, through Great Smoky Mountains Association at friendsofthesmokies.org or at any of the park’s visitor centers. The $5 daily passes and $15 weekly passes are available for purchase at www.recreation.gov.
The Great Smoky Mountains parking fees will support
an increase in park ranger presence, increased maintenance of facilities and trails, restoration of recreational habitats, as well as an increased focus on the maintenance of the historic structures in the park such as cabins, churches and mills. Information
