Hikes and Activities in the GSMNP

The Great Smoky Mountains Association has shared some information on upcoming hikes and other outdoor activities.  

Upcoming Hikes

Sunday, September 2, 2018, 9:00 a.m.  Alum Cave Trail–Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.  When you hike Alum Cave Trail, you’ll travel the park’s latest Trails Forever success story.  What was once a worn path is now a safer, smoother trip along one of the most scenic trails in the Smokies.  Join professional guide Liz Domingue to explore the beauty of this trail.  The hike is 5 miles and is rated moderate to strenuous.

Saturday, September 22, 2018, 8:30 a.m.  Swain County Visitor Center and Museum, Bryson City, North Carolina.  History in the Noland Creek Valley runs deep.  During the late 1800s and into the early 19002 this remote area was home to farmers and their families.  In 1905 the Harris-Woodbury Lumber Company purchased 17,000 acres but spared the Noland watershed from logging operations.  Surrounded by natural beauty, Steve Kemp, award-winning author and Smokies historian, will interpret the history and uses of the area.  The hike is about 12 miles and is rated moderate to strenuous due to the length.

Other Activities

Monarch Butterfly Tagging:  A Citizen Science Program, Cades Cove, Tennessee.  The program is being

held at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 22, Sunday, September 30, and Saturday, October 6, 2018.  Monarchs are the only known butterfly species to make a true migration in North America.  Many of the monarchs we see traveling through East Tennessee are on a 2,000 mile journey to spend winter among forests high in the mountains of Mexico.  The Great Smoky Mountains Association monarch tagging program gets you involved by collecting data that will help scientists answer questions about the origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, mortality during the migration, and changes in geographic distribution.  Plan on 3 miles of hiking that is rated easy.

 

For more information on these, and other, activities, please visit the Great Smoky Mountains Association at http://www.smokiesinformation.org.