New Foothills Parkway Raises 2018 National Park Visitation

New Foothills Parkway Raises 2018 National Park Visitation. Great Smoky Mountains National Park reported 11,421,203 visitors in 2018. The 0.7% increase over 2017 is attributed to the opening of the new section of the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley in November. Nearly 200,000 visitors experienced this new park opportunity which resulted in record-setting visitation in both November and December.

“The new section of the Foothills Parkway is a spectacular scenic driving destination and we’re pleased that so many people have already enjoyed it,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “We hope that people take the time to explore it across the seasons.”

Park visitation across the park remained relatively stable compared to 2017. The highest visitation occured in July, followed by June and then October. Monthly visitation records were set during June, September, November, and December. Visitors spent approximately 400,000 nights camping in the park,  down 3% from 2017, but still within the 5-year average. The park offers 9 front country campgrounds and 100 backcountry campsites for visitors to enjoy. The most popular campgrounds include Cades Cove, Elkmont, Smokemont, and Cosby.

Smoky Mountain Paving Project Slows Traffic

Smoky Mountain Paving Project Slows Traffic. Great Smoky Mountains National Park will begin paving on Little River Road between the Townsend Wye and Sugarlands Visitors Center Tuesday, February 19, 2019.  A thin pavement overlay will be applied to the entire length of the 16.5-mile roadway including pull-offs and parking areas. The 1.5 -mile Elkmont road leading to the campground will also be paved. The work is projected to be complete by September 20, 2019. Locals know the finish line for a project of this size always depends on many factors like weather.

Visitors may experience weekday, single-lane closures and traffic delays from February 19, 2019 through June 14, 2019 and again from August 19, 2019 through September 20, 2019. Single-lane closures are permitted from 7:00 a.m. on Mondays through 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. The lane closures will be flagged. Parking areas and pull-offs will be closed as necessary for paving. No lane closures will be allowed during the peak summer months, weekends, or holidays including the week before and after Easter from April 12, 2019 through April 26, 2019.

The Federal Highway Administration awarded $6.5 million to implement the project. The park is also overseeing tree removal work along various roadways in the park including Little River Road between Sugarlands Visitor Center and Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, Elkmont Road, Cherokee Orchard Road, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, and the Gatlinburg Bypass. Motorists will experience delays due to single-lane closures associated with this work through April, 2019.

For more information about temporary road closures visit www.nps.gov/grsmor or follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.

Great Backyard Bird Count Event

Great Backyard Bird Count Event offers many opportunities in the Great Smoky Mountains. This count is for the birds. Bird lovers everywhere are invited to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) and help create a real-time snapshot of our feathered friends. Participants, from all over the world, are expected to be involved in the 22nd annual four-day event which begins Friday, February 15 and continues through Monday, February 18, 2019. Enthusiasts, which include beginning birdwatchers to experts, can spend as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) during the event and then report their sightings online at birdcount.org.

Each checklist submitted during the event helps indicate how bird populations are changing, and how the latest warm weather patterns have affected bird movements around the country. GBBC allows researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn how to protect birds and the environment we all share. Last year’s count included data from more than 160,000 people and produced the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird population ever recorded.

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Biltmore Estate Vintage Vanderbilt Clothing Expo

Biltmore Estate Vintage Vanderbilt Clothing Expo. Dressing in style at Biltmore Estate February 8 – May 27,  2019 is a Smoky Mountain special event. Reproductions of original Vanderbilt clothing are on display at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, and the public is invited to imagine the glittering parties when the Vanderbilt’s really dressed in style while entertaining in the fabulous home’s elegant rooms.

Oscar winning costumer John Bright and Cosprop, London, guided by Biltmore curators, meticulously recreated the fashions favored and worn by the Vanderbilts and their guests at elegant turn-of-the-century house parties during America’s Gilded Age.

Join in the fun with Biltmore’s new custom exhibition audio-guided tour, created especially for this

exhibit, which combines realistic 360 degree sound techniques featuring stories told from the perspectives of those who lived and worked at this amazing home during the early 1900s. This impressive audio-visual experience brings scenes, previously viewed only in old black and white photos, vividly to life. Consider this your invitation to attend a Vanderbilt House Party!

Biltmore Estate is nestled in Asheville, North Carolina in the foothills of beautiful Pisgah National Forest. Long referred to as, America’s Castle, the sprawling estate includes tours of the mansion and the extensive gardens designed by famed architect Frederick Law Ohmsted.

Valentine’s Cookie Baking Class

Valentine’s Cookie Baking Class at Wildflour Bakehouse in Sevierville, TN. This Smoky Mountain special event will feature separate classes for kids and adults Saturday, February 9, 2019. Wildflour Bakehouse is a staple for good eats in Sevier County serving breakfast and lunch. They are a family run, small batch bakery that creates pastries and breads in house early each morning. Stop in and get your day started right with some of their sweet and savory baked goods.

“IF BAKING IS ANY LABOR AT ALL, IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE. A LOVE THAT GETS PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION,”

REGINA BRETT.

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