National park gives updates on trail closures following heavy rain

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — Many of the trails in the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are open, however, the park shared on Friday that a few areas are still closed following the heavy rainfall from Hurricane Helene.

According to the park, on the Tennessee side of the park, Foothills Parkway East is closed near Cosby as screws continue to assess conditions and assess damage.

The park shared that most trails in the Tennessee side of the park are open, but there are several on the North Carolina side that are closed. Some of the trails that were impacted are Big Creek Trail, which saw damage throughout its length and lost a 70-foot steel bridge and its abutments and Gunter Fork Trail experienced a landslide that took out 100 feet of trail. The park shared that crews are continuing to assess trails on the eastern end of the park to find the western edge of the damage in the backcountry.

In the Western side of the park, GSMNP shared that there have also been some low impacts and a few downed trees. Visitors who are planning to hike in the Smokies are encouraged to check the park website or talk to staff in visitor centers or the backcountry office about current trail conditions.

In North Carolina, Lakeview Drive, the Balsam Mountain, Big Creek and Cataloochee Valley areas remain closed.

The park also reiterated that US 441/ Newfound Gap Road is open 24 hours a day, but commercial vehicles are prohibited in the park, except for on the Spur.

Previously, Newfound Gap Road was temporarily closed overnight due to an influx of “illegal, large commercial vehicles” travelling through the park, but with the assistance of Sevier County and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Government to turn around commercial vehicles at checkpoints overnight, the road was reopened 24/7 on Tuesday.

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