Recreation+Gardening
Featured
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Holly Kays photo
War and Peace on the Parkway
When I’m out enjoying snowy vistas on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it’s usually with a pair of skis attached to my feet. I glide through the crystallized water, I breathe deeply, and I drink in the views and the silence. Read more
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On the Trail in the Smokies
If you’re looking for a moderate, low-elevation hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the winter, the Twentymile Creek section is a good place to go. Read more
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NPS photos
A Conversation With the Smokies’ Trailmaster
Tobias Miller first arrived in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2002. After working on trail crews during high school and college, he was convinced that a National Park Service career was the way to go. Read more
iStock/stuckreed Photo
A Tennessee Stopover for Sandhill Cranes
The dead of winter may not seem like the best time to attend an outdoor performance. However, for those willing to brave the January chill, the stars of the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge promise one spectacular show. Read more
Dec 1, 2015
Embrace a Smoky Mountain Autumn with Apple Orchards, Pumpkin Patches & Corn Mazes
When the air turns chilly and leaves change their hue, we are called to apple orchards, pumpkins patches, and corn mazes. These everlasting connections to a season of harvest is engrained in the collective American psyche. Read more
Oct 1, 2021
NPS photo
A Conversation With the Smokies’ Fire Manager
As the National Park Service’s acting Appalachian Piedmont Coastal Zone fire management officer, Shane Paxton handles fire-related issues for 22 national parks in four different states. Read more
Oct 1, 2021
Smokies Park Facing Stiff Challenges from Ever-Increasing Visitation
At Newfound Gap, where President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September 1940, the plaque nobly notes that the park exists ‘for the permanent enjoyment of the people.’ Read more
Oct 1, 2021
Cataloochee Divide Trail
Most any time of year can be an excellent time to hike Cataloochee Divide, which generally marks the southeastern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The divide is one of the ridges that separate Cataloochee Valley from the world. Read more
Oct 1, 2021
Holly Kays photo
Joining the Fungal Network
As the summer of 2020 heated up, I found myself in need of two things: a new hobby to beat the quarantine tedium and a shield from the constant stream of division that now populated my Facebook feed. Mushrooms, I found, were the answer to both. Read more
Oct 1, 2021
Solitude Done Right
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken off like this on a weekday, but in the summer of 2020, my sense of time was beyond muddled. Read more
Aug 1, 2021
Mountain Biking
The Southern Appalachian region is a panacea for outdoor enthusiasts of all types, including mountain bikers. Though I grew up in these mountains, I never enjoyed biking as a young girl. Read more
Aug 1, 2021
