Some tornado damaged trails in Cades Cove have reopened

The EF-4 tornado that ripped through the western end of Cades Cove on April 27th forced the shut-down of several trails in the area. The Beard Cane Trail saw the most damage, as the tornado essentially followed almost the entire length of the 4.2-mile trail.

Since then the park has taken on the monumental task of removing thousands of trees blocking those trails, and is slowly but surely reopening them once the pathways are cleared. In recent weeks, the Abrams Falls Trail, Ace Gap Trail and the Little Bottoms Trail have reopened.

It sounds like it could be several months before many of the other trails are reopened. Here's the current list of closures:

• Beard Cane Trail

• Cooper Road Trail from the Beard Cane/Hatcher Mountain Trails junction to the Cades Cove Loop Road

• Hannah Mountain Trail is closed from Rabbit Creek Trail junction to Abrams Falls/Little Bottoms Trails junction.

• Hatcher Mountain Trail north of the intersection with Little Bottoms Trail

• Rabbit Creek Trail

• Wet Bottom Trail

• Backcountry Campsites 3, 11, 15

To view a map of the closed trails, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com