Closures in the Smokies during elk calving season

The latest edition of the Cub Report from the Great Smoky Mountains Association is reporting that all fields in the Cataloochee Valley, and the field east of US Hwy. 441 between the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the fields at Couch's Creek and along Tow String Road, are closed to pedestrian and horse traffic during the months of May and June as a result of this being the elk calving season.

During calving season, newborn calves are often bedded down in the tall grass area of the fields. Closing the fields prevents inadvertent contact between visitors and calves, which could lead to disturbance of the calf and or an attack by the mother elk.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com