Photo by Ken Lund
Park officials have closed Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove Visitor Centers until further notice. At this time, seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and restroom facilities located adjacent to visitor center.
The Great Smoky Mountains Association has suspended its bookstore, orientation shelter, and historical demonstration operations in visitor centers in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park. GSMA is a nonprofit partner to the park, and its decision is limited to its operations within visitor centers and visitor contact stations. At this time, seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and restroom facilities located adjacent to visitor centers remain open and accessible to the public. Books, DVDs, interpretive products, gifts, apparel, and more GSMA products remain available for purchase online at smokiesinformation.org.
GSMA assists park staff by providing visitor orientation, interpretive merchandise sales, and visitor convenience sales at the following locations: Cable Mill; Cades Cove Orientation Shelter; Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont; Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove visitor centers; as well as Gatlinburg Welcome Center, Townsend Visitor Center, and Swain County Visitor Center in Bryson City, NC. Information assistance continues to be available at Gatlinburg Welcome Center and Swain County Visitor Center. Information assistance and merchandise sales continue to be available at Townsend Visitor Center courtesy of Blount Partnership.
GSMA is closing its bookstores, as well as the Cable Mill and Orientation Shelter in Cades Cove immediately until at least March 31, or until the CDC or similar authority determine that COVID-19 transmission has slowed sufficiently to be safe and the CDC is no longer advocating for social distancing.
For more information about current conditions in the park, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm or follow #SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.