Storm Damaged Trail Status Update

Thursday, July 19, 2012

It appears the Great Smoky Mountains has made a full assessment of all trail damage due to the July 5th windstorm. The latest update has a few changes compared to previous updates. Gone is the long list of trails that the park had no, or little information on. What's left is only the list of trail and backcountry campground closures. Here's the latest:

The following trails have been closed to all use:

• Ace Gap Trail
• Beard Cane Trail and Campsites #3 and #11 (damaged by tornado in 2011)
• Chestnut Top Trail
• Goshen Prong Trail and Campsite #23
• Gunter Fork Trail (closed due to landslides)
• Hatcher Mountain Trail (damaged by tornado in 2011)
• Rabbit Creek Trail and Campsite #15
• Scott Mountain Trail and Campsite #6
• West Prong Trail from Tremont Road to Campsite #18. This trail is open from Bote Mountain Trail to Campsite #18. The campsite is also open.

The Parson Branch Road is also closed and may affect access to trailheads.

To keep up with all the latest information, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

3 comments

smoky scout said...

Interesting that they are still listing Gunter Fork as closed due to landslides (not due to the recent storm). In early June a friend and I were in that area and met a trail crew that was fixing the Gunter Fork Trail. They said it was such an easy fix that they had time to move on to improvements on Balsam Mtn Trail - which is where I met them and got to be the first footsteps on freshly dug trail. We didn't walk on Gunter Fork itself but...

The Smoky Mountain Hiker said...

You're right - that has been on the list for an awful long time. Is it possible that the folks in the office don't know that it's open?

smoky scout said...

Possible, or it's just been on the list so long it's kind of invisible. Worth a few phone calls to find out?