News
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Permanent Camp: Foliar Fruit Flagging
By George Ellison with illustration by Elizabeth Ellison Most wildflower enthusiasts hone in on the showy, flowering phase of a plant's life cycle for observation. Only slowly do we learn to appreciate the post-flowering phase. The setting and distribution of fruit is, after all, what the hustle-and-bustle of germination, flowering, and Read more... -
Smokies Life magazine: Roosevelt’s “Grand Trip” to the Smokies
The following is a teaser for a feature in the current Smokies Life magazine.
Roosevelt’s “Grand Trip” to the Smokies, By Anne Bridges
Prologue
Many people are aware that President Roosevelt visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1940 to dedicate the park. But few realize that this was his second trip to the
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Image for the Asking: A River
Story and image by Don McGowan
There are nearly 2,900 miles of streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s roughly the distance between Asheville, North Carolina, and the Colorado National Monument, just south of Fruita, Colorado, and back again; and nearly 600 miles of that number are suitable for fishing. The watersheds
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Permanent Camp: Fraser Magnolias
In the coves of the southern Appalachians,
cooled by the breezes set astir by ever-falling
water … this lovely tree [Fraser magnolia] is
most at home, its flowers shining forth serenely
as water-lilies floating in the forest green.
~ D. C. Peattie, A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central America (1950)
Written by
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Catch the Firefly Experience
While things brought many changes, one symbolic event of summer stayed true—the appearance of fireflies. And though firefly season is slowly coming to an end, there are still many ways to experience the magic of these wonderful creatures. Firefly photographer and videographer Radim Schreiber partnered with Great Smoky Mountains Association
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Word from the Smokies: Superintendent Cassius Cash Launches Smokies Hikes for Healing
New initiative brings small groups of strangers together for important conversations about racism within the refuge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
By Frances Figart, Creative Services Director
In late May, as the park began to resume operations after being fully closed for 46 days, a shock wave rang out around the world
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Chief Ranger Lisa Hendy Works to Prevent Search and Rescue
By Frances Figart, Creative Services Director
Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park topped 12.5 million in 2019. This year, despite the park having been completely closed March 24 through May 9 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sheer volume of people is once again exerting great strain on all the park’s systems—
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Smokies Guide Summer Feature: Supporting Wildlife with Native Plants
Did you know you can read the official Great Smoky Mountains National Park newspaper online?
Skip the stop at a visitor center and go straight to the GSMA Smokies Guide page to read or download the latest summer 2020 Smokies Guide complete with park news, roadway maps, trip planning help, hiking essentials, junior ranger activities, and
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Image for the Asking: Snail Eating Up the Forest
Story and image by Don McGowan
They are easily overlooked and often quite readily ignored. They often leave a slimy trail wherever they go, which doesn’t necessarily endear them to a lot of people. Yet they are an important part of the web of life in these old mountains, and if you are willing to be completely honest with yourself, they
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Explore the Smokies Canopy in a New Podcast Episode with Author Rose Houk
By Aaron Searcy, publications associate
From high above the tallest treetops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, author Rose Houk asks, “What goes on in the uppermost layers of this forest? Does anything live up there? What creatures big or small live in what’s called the forest canopy? And what is the canopy anyway?”&
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