Great Smoky Mountains Fantastic Fall Foliage Forecasted

Great Smoky Mountains Fantastic Fall Foliage Forecasted. Leaf peeping is always a Smoky Mountain special event! A fantastic display of fall foliage is predicted for The Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas.

Experts expect Mother Nature to dance a fiery flamenco across the Smokies, flinging her cloak of many colors and blazing a trail through Tennessee and North Carolina. All this is due, in part, to the unusually warm and wet conditions experienced in the mountains from spring through mid-summer and closer to normal rainfall in late July, according to a quote by Beverly Collis, Western Carolina University’s autumnal analyzer and fall color calculator. Collins, a professor of biology at WCU, utilizes her knowledge of forest ecology with weather trends to calculate the potential for a color-filled leaf-peeping season in the Western portion of North Carolina where color can appear, in some species, such as sumac and sourwood, in early September. According to Collins the long-term forecast that extends through October calls for average precipitation and warmer –than normal temperatures, “and, if the forecast holds, we should have our typical bright colors this year,” Collins was quoted as saying.  However, color change is linked to cooler nights which result in less chlorophyll (green color) production in leaves, and Collins noted that if the forecast holds and those cooler nights are delayed, peak color might hold off until the last weekend of October in regions that are about 2,000 feet in elevations. And, Collins warned that big storms or a hurricane, which might send strong winds and heavy rains inland, could strip the leaves off the trees ahead of schedule.

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Mountains To Sea Trail Celebrates 42nd Anniversary

Mountains To Sea Trail Celebrates 42nd Anniversary. The 42nd anniversary of North Carolina’s the Mountains-to-Sea Trail celebrates with some 33 planned group hikes.

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail invite interested parties, of all skill levels, to participate in one of 33 group hikes in 27 trail towns across the North Carolina beginning Friday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 8. Hikers (or walkers) can choose any of one -12 mile hikes which traverse all types of terrain (rated from easy to strenuous) scheduled from Cherokee to Nags Head. Hikers can opt for the closest trail or venture to another area of North Carolina and explore.

Chuck Millsaps, president of the Great Outdoor Provision Co., the exclusive sponsor of the MST Birthday Hike, was quoted as saying, “We are thrilled to see so many communities hosting hikes across the state as we celebrate the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Its fun to send folks out on the trail then hear their hike stories the next time they stop by.” Great Outdoor Provision Co. is a North Carolina-based outdoor equipment and clothing retailer, with nine stores across the area.

 According to Wikipedia, this long-distance hiking and backpacking trail, established in 1977, will connect the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks by weaving a thread of interconnected trails. A little more than half the trail is complete in multiple segments across the state. Sometime, in the near future, you can step on MST at Clingman’s Dome and many, many miles later dip your weary toes into the waters of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

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Biltmore Gardens Railway

Biltmore Gardens Railway is on display at Biltmore Estate from May 24, 2019 through September 29, 2019. For a limited time, in the Conservatory and at Antler Hill Village & Winery, enjoy beautifully executed botanical model train displays! These displays features a variety of Biltmore area structures, each handcrafted in meticulous detail from such all-natural elements as leaves, bark, and twigs. With 800 feet of rails and trains traversing six separate lines at different eye levels, this is a one-of-a-kind, fun-for-all-ages garden experience. The model train experience is included with the price of admission to Biltmore Estate.

Biltmore Estate is nestled in Asheville, North Carolina in the foothills of the beautiful Pisgah National Forest. The largest private residence in the United States has long been referred to as America’s Castle. The sprawling estate includes tours of the historic mansion and the extensive garden designs by famed architect Fredrick Law Ohmsted.

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Rhododendron Festivals

Rhododendron Festivals at Roan Mountain and Grandfather Mountain herald the beginning of summer. Roan Mountain and Mother Nature team up to showcase Rhododendron blossoms in the highlands.

Roan Mountain has wowed visitors with its annual Rhododendron Festival for 60 years, and this year’s event, slated Saturday-Sunday, June 22-23, 2019, is no exception. Join visitors from all over the country and enjoy a spectacular walk through the world’s largest natural rhododendron gardens atop 6000 ft. Roan Mountain.  The rhododendron gardens are located in a Canadian temperate zone which is the perfect climate for this showiest of native plants. Hundreds of bushes, each of which might produce more than 100 clusters of flowers, cover the mountain.  Roan is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka range of the southern Appalachian Mountains, and is also home to the largest stretch of grassy balds (Grassy Ridge, a type of highland meadow characterized by thick native grasses, shrubs, and few trees) in the Appalachian range. The Cherokee National forest and Pisgah National forest converge atop the mountain and Roan Mountain State Park is located near its northern base.

The Appalachian Trail wanders for most of Roan’s Crest which is home to Roan’s High Knob Shelter, the highest backcountry shelter on the entire 2,174-mile trail. Roan Mountain comprises the greater part of Roan Highlands which stretches from Big Rock Creek in the west to U.S. Route 19 in the east.

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Smoky Mountain Region Travel Advisories


Smoky Mountain Region Travel Advisories. Upcoming Single-Lane Closure on Southbound Spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will temporarily close a single land on the southbound Spur between the Flat Branch intersection and the Gatlinburg Welcome Center Tuesday, June 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The closure of the right-hand lane is necessary to make repairs to the guard rail. The roadway will remain open, but motorists should expect delays with the single-lane closure.

Visitors can also expect delays when traveling from Asheville N.C. to Cherokee N.C. along Blue Ridge Parkway. Work underway to repave a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Cherokee N.C. will cause lane closures and traffic delays, according to a spokesperson for the project.

Currently the “pavement Preservation” project, which began June 18, is between Mileposts 393 and Milepost 413. The total project will involve more than 65 miles between Milepost 359 to where the well-traveled road ends at Milepost 469 in Cherokee. Expect single lane closures, flaggers and traffic delays during the paving project which is expected to last until mid-to late-July. The $4 million project, funded through the Federal Highway Administration, is an effort to upgrade the scenic road which draws some 16.1 million visitors a year and was originally constructed more than 80 years ago.

In a related issue a landslide closed a portion N.C. Highway 9.
North Carolina state transportation officials say it will take until the end of July to clear the massive landslide which closed part of N.C. Highway 9. The N.C. Department of Transportation said that more than 110,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock slid into the road on June 5 and indicated that the target date to reopen the road is July 27. The slide, located about a mile north of U.S. 74-A near the Buncombe-Henderson County lines, covers only about 100 feet of roadway but has created a 50-mile detour. An NCDOT spokesman says that workers are on-site and working from sunrise to sunset daily.