Over the next several days there will be a couple of seasonal road closings in the Smoky Mountains that will impact a handful of trails.
On Tuesday, November 10, the Roundbottom/Straight Fork Road will be closed for the season. The gravel road is accessed from the paved Big Cove Road, located near Oconaluftee in North Carolina. Trails impacted by this closing include the Hyatt Ridge, Enloe Creek and Beech Gap Trails.
The following Monday, November 16, Rich Mountain Road and Parson Branch Road will also close for the season. Both roads are one-way gravel roads, and are both accessed via the Cades Cove Loop Road.
Trails impacted by these closings include Indian Graves Gap on Rich Mountain Road, and the Gregory Bald and Hannah Mountain Trails on Parson Branch Road.
Of course all of these trails will continue to be open, but you may have problems reaching these particular trailheads.
You should also be aware that the Cades Cove Campground Store will be closed on November 5 as well. However, vending machines will remain in service throughout the winter.
Jeff
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cades cove /
Parson Branch Road /
Rich Mountain Road /
Roundbottom Road /
Straight Fork Road
Seasonal Road Closings in Cades Cove
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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6 comments
I wonder if any road closures are scheduled for the Greenbriar entrance.
Abby - the Greenbriar entrance closes on Dec. 31 (and reopens in mid March).
Jeff
Yesterday (Nov. 6) the Heintooga Road was still open, although the Park website says it closed on Oct 31. I wonder if they have left it open because the weather has been so good or possibly because of staff shortages or they just forgot?
Smoky Scout - I can't believe that they would forget, but we are talking about the government!! :)
My guess is that they left it open because of the nice weather.
Glad to see you're spending some time in the Smokies again.
Jeff
The Cades Cove Loop Road is still open, right? We're going to try to go tomorrow. I'm hoping there will still be some good color...
Lisa, yes, the Cades Cove Loop is still open. It never closes on a seasonal basis.
However, it is scheduled to be closed from March 1 - May 21, 2010 for repaving.
Here's the GSMA final fall color report:
http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/fall_leaf_color
Jeff
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