GSMA Announces Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Dates

GSMA Announces Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Dates

Monday, February 24, 2014

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Registration is now open for the 64th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, which will be held April 15th thru the 19th. This year's five-day event will offer 146 professionally guided walks and indoor presentations which will explore the region’s rich wildflowers, fauna, ecology, cultural and natural history. There will be a variety of wildflower, fauna and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.

Most programs are conducted on the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, while indoor offerings will be held in the Mills Conference Center or the Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All programs will be held rain or shine.

The event website and brochure provide descriptions of all pilgrimage programs which are listed by date and time. Each description includes starting points, walking distances, hiking difficulties, and registration limits. Popular programs are repeated at different times and days and are referenced under “similar programs.” There’s also an alphabetical index of all program topics and destinations on page 21 of the brochure. Programs meeting at trailheads or other sites in the park require participants to arrange their own transportation. Vans will be provided where trailhead parking is limited. Participants are strongly encouraged to use the free van service.

On-site registration will begin Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 5:00 PM in the Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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Registration Opens for the Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Registration Opens for the Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Thursday, February 14, 2013

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Registration opened today for the 63rd Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. The four-day event offers 141 professionally guided walks and indoor presentations which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, fauna, ecology, cultural and natural history. There will be a variety of wildflower, fauna and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.

Most programs are conducted on the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, while indoor offerings are held in the Mills Conference Center and the Sugarlands Training Room in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All programs will be held rain or shine.

The event website and brochure provide descriptions of all pilgrimage programs which are listed by date and time. Each description includes starting points, walking distances, hiking difficulties, and registration limits. Popular programs are repeated at different times and days and are referenced under “similar programs.” There’s also an alphabetical index of all program topics and destinations on page 19 of the brochure. Programs meeting at trailheads or other sites in the park require participants to arrange their own transportation. Vans will be provided where trailhead parking is limited. Participants are strongly encouraged to use the free van service.

On-site registration will begin Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 5:00 PM in the Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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Video: Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Smokies

Video: Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Smokies

Friday, March 25, 2011

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With the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage just one month away, the Great Smoky Mountains Association has published a short video from last year's event that features close-up views of many of the wildflowers that can be found in the Smokies.

This year's Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, which will take place on April 26 - May 1, 2011, is a five day event that will offer 141 professionally guided walks and indoor presentations which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, fauna, ecology, cultural and natural history.


© GSMA 2011. All rights reserved.



For more information, including details on all the programs, hikes and walks, please click here.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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GSMA Announces Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Dates

GSMA Announces Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Dates

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

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The Great Smoky Mountains Association announced today the dates and schedule for the 61st Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage.

This year's Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, which will take place on April 26 - May 1, 2011, is a five day event that will offer 141 professionally guided walks and indoor presentations which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, fauna, ecology, cultural and natural history.

Most programs are conducted on the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, while indoor offerings will be held in the Mills Conference Center and the Sugarlands Training Room in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All programs will be held rain or shine.

This year's Pilgrimage will also include a photography contest. The four categories included in the contest are:

* Flora (flowers, trees, shrubs, & other plant life)
* Fauna (insects, animals)
* Landscape
* Youth Produced (must be applicable to Flora, Fauna or Landscape and produced by a photographer who has not reached 18 years of age at time of entry.)

For more information, including details on all the programs, hikes and walks, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage hiking schedule

Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage hiking schedule

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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As mentioned last week, the 60th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will take place from April 21 thru April 25 this year - provided that the snow and cold weather decides to move out of here sometime before then.

As mentioned in that post, program details weren't yet released by the Great Smoky Mountains Association at that point. However, just yesterday, the GSMA updated their website with the complete program schedule.

Included in this year's Pilgrimage are several wildflower walks and hikes. Some are easy, and some are all-day stenuous hikes. Below is a list of most (but not all) of the hikes included on this year's schedule. Many of these are scheduled on multiple days.

* Albright Grove
* Appalachian Trail (2 miles)
* Appalachian, Fork Ridge and Deep Creek Trails
* Ash Hopper Branch
* Baskins Creek Trail
* Chestnut Top Trail
* Cove Hardwood Nature Trail
* Cucumber Gap Trail
* Gabes Mountain Trail
* Grapeyard Ridge Trail
* Grassy Balds - Russell and Spence Fields
* Injun Creek Trail
* Kanati Fork Trail
* Little River Trail
* Long Bunk, Mt. Sterling, and Little Cataloochee Trails
* Lynn Camp Prong
* Noah "Bud" Ogle Trail
* Oconaluftee River Trail
* Old Settlers Trail
* Old Sugarlands
* Porters Creek Trail
* Ramsey Cascades Trail
* Road Prong Trail
* Snake Den Ridge - Appalachian trail Low Gap Trail
* Sweat Heifer Trail to Kephart Prong
* Tremont to Elkmont
* Thomas Divide to Kanati Fork
* West Prong Trail
* White Oak Sinks

To see the complete Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage schedule, please click here.

On-line registration will begin March 9 and end April 17.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Dates set for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Dates set for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Monday, February 8, 2010

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The 60th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will take place from April 21 thru April 25 this year and will be headquartered at the Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg. The pilgrimage is a five-day event consisting of a variety of wildflower, fauna, and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars.

With over 150 programs available, both outdoor and indoor, there will be topics and hikes to please everyone.

Also included in this year's Pilgrimage will be a "Greener Living Expo", highlighting ways to be more earth-friendly. Indoor programs will feature composting and organic gardening, water pollution and its effect on aquatic life, becoming your own "green grocer", attracting insect-eating birds through gardening, and much more.

To learn more about the Great Smoky Mountains Association's Pilgrimage, please click here (website should be updated shortly). On-line registration will begin March 9 and end April 17. Registration fees are: $40 for one day, $75 for 2 or more days, $10 for students, and children under 12 are free.

For further information about the Pilgrimage or about exhibit space call the GSMA at 865-436-7318, extension 222 or 254.

The Great Smoky Mountains are home to more than 1600 species of flowering plants. If you're more interested in striking out on your own to see some of these, please check out my list of the best trails to hike, when to hike them, and which flowers you can expect to see.

If you can't make it to the Smokies this spring, you can still view a gallery of wildflowers I've put together by clicking here.


Need help identifying wildflowers?

Check out Southern Appalachian Wildflowers. This is an excellent companion to have during wildflower season to help you identify the many flowers you'll be seeing. This field guide features wildflowers from the southern tip of the Appalachians in Georgia and Alabama to the Blue Ridge Parkway and includes Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Please click here for more information.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Peak Wildflower Season in the Smokies

Peak Wildflower Season in the Smokies

Monday, April 13, 2009

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It's already mid-April, which means that peak wildflower season is rapidly approaching in the Great Smoky Mountains.

If you have any interest in taking part in the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage this year, you better make plans soon. The annual event will be taking place next week - from April 22 thru April 26. The pilgrimage is a five-day event consisting of a variety of wildflower, fauna, and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars. For more information, visit www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org or phone 865-436-7318 (ext. 222).

If you're more interested in striking out yourself for your own wildflower viewing in the Smokies, I've recently compiled a list of the best trails to hike, when to hike them, and which flowers you can expect to see. The link below will take you to the article:

www.hikinginthesmokys.com/blog22_wildflower_hikes.htm

If by chance you can't make it to the Smokies this spring, I've put together a gallery of many of the wildflowers we saw last season:

www.hikinginthesmokys.com/wildflowers.htm

Please enjoy.


Need help identifying wildflowers?

Check out Southern Appalachian Wildflowers. This is an excellent companion to have during wildflower season to help you identify the many flowers you'll be seeing. This field guide features wildflowers from the southern tip of the Appalachians in Georgia and Alabama to the Blue Ridge Parkway and includes Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Please click here for more information.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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2009 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

2009 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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The annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will take place from April 22 thru April 26 this year. The pilgrimage is a five-day event consisting of a variety of wildflower, fauna, and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars. Most programs are outdoors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, while indoor offerings are held in various venues throughout Gatlinburg.

There will be more than 150 programs this year.

Registration begins on March 9. Fees for adults are $25.00 for one day; $40.00 for 2 or more days. Student fees are $10.00 for one or more days and children under 12 years of age are free.

For more information, visit www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org or phone 865-436-7318 (ext. 222).

The Smoky Mountains are home to more than 1600 species of flowering plants. Wildflowers explode during the brief window just prior to trees leafing out and shading the forest floor (from about mid-April thru mid-May).

The following is a sample of some of the wildflowers you could possibly see:

Need help identifying all those flowers?

Check out Southern Appalachian Wildflowers. This would be a nice companion to have during the pilgrimage to help you identify the many wildflowers you'll be seeing. This field guide features wildflowers from the southern tip of the Appalachians in Georgia and Alabama to the Blue Ridge Parkway and includes Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Please click here for more information.

Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Smoky Mountain Day Hikers Store Quality gear and apparel from some of the best outdoor brands.

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