Great Smoky Mountains News Release Immediate Release Contact: Nancy Gray Date: October 27, 2005 865/436-1208 SMOKIES WINTER SCHEDULE Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced its winter season operations schedule. As cooler weather approaches and visitation decreases, various facilities will close, including 7 of the 10 campgrounds, and operational hours for some Park services will be reduced. VISITOR CENTERS Starting on November 1, the Sugarlands Visitor Center, 2 miles south of Gatlinburg, TN, will open daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The Oconaluftee Visitor Center, 2 miles north of Cherokee, NC, will serve visitors from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The Cades Cove Visitor Center located half way around the Cades Cove Loop Road will be opened daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ROADS During the winter months, the two main roads, Newfound Gap (U.S. 441) and Little River, will remain open throughout the year, except for temporary closures for extreme winter weather conditions. The Gatlinburg Bypass, Cades Cove Loop Road, Cosby Road, Greenbrier Road, Upper Tremont, Little Greenbrier, Forge Creek, Lakeview Drive, and Foothills Parkway (East and West) will open and close as road conditions mandate. Secondary roads will be closed as indicated: Roundbottom/Straight Fork and Balsam Mountain/Heintooga Roads on November 1, Rich Mountain Road on November 12, and Clingmans Dome and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trails on December 1. Parson Branch Road is closed due to storm impacts. (over) Winter Schedule--two For more information on winter weather road conditions, contact the Park at 865/436-1200. LODGING LeConte Lodge will accommodate guests until November 23 when it will close for the season. CAMPING Two of the three major campgrounds will remain open all year. These year-round campgrounds are Cades Cove in Tennessee and Smokemont in North Carolina. Starting November 1, they will be on a self-registration basis with a reduced number of available sites. Elkmont Campground in Tennessee will remain open through the Thanksgiving weekend and will be closed on December 1. Balsam Mountain campground is already closed for the season. The six remaining self-registration campgrounds will be closed on November 1. CADES COVE CAMPGROUND STORE AND BIKE RENTAL Cades Cove Campground Store will be closed on October 31 except for the vending machines, which will remain in service throughout the winter. PICNICKING Seven picnic areas will remain open through the winter: Chimney Tops, Cades Cove, Cosby, Greenbrier, Metcalf Bottoms, Big Creek, and Deep Creek. STABLES The Smokemont Riding Stables will be closed for the season on October 31. The Cades Cove Riding Stables is scheduled to be closed on November 7. Sugarlands Horseback Riding Stables and the Smoky Mountain Riding Stables will remain open through November 27, weather permitting. HORSE CAMPS All five horse camps--Round Bottom, Tow String, Cataloochee, Big Creek, and Anthony Creek--are scheduled to be closed on November 14. -NPS- Nancy Gray Great Smoky Mountains National Park 107 Park Headquarters Road Gatlinburg, TN 37738 865/436-1208 phone 865/436-1204 fax e:mail: Nancy_Gray@xxxxxxx ? ? ******************************************************************* Charlie Muise, Naturalist near Great Smoky Mountains National Park "To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illuminated mind the whole world sparkles with light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the count in which the birds you report were seen. The actual date of observation should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp _____________________________________________________________