PARK SPRING OPENINGS SCHEDULED

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced its spring opening schedule for Park facilities, including secondary roads, self-registration campgrounds, and concession operations.   Numerous Park facilities will open tomorrow, Friday, March 7.
Roads –  The secondary roads that are set to open on March 7 include: Little Greenbrier, Rich Mountain, Straight Fork/Round Bottom, Parson Branch, and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  Clingmans Dome Road is set to open on April 1 and the Heintooga Ridge and Balsam Mountain Roads will open on May 9.
Operating Hours for Visitor Centers – The three visitor centers are open daily and the operating hours through March are as follows: Sugarlands Visitor Center, near Gatlinburg, TN, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Cades Cove Visitor Center, near Townsend, TN, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, NC, hours will be 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
The National Recreation Reservation System (NRRS) provides visitors an opportunity to make reservations to many federally-managed recreation areas, in addition to the National Park Service, all across the U.S.  The system allows campers to reserve specific campsites and to make reservations 6 months in advance.   In addition, group campsites and picnic pavilions can be reserved up to 12 months in advance.  To make reservations at three of the Park’s developed campgrounds, group campsites, horse camps, and picnic shelters, visitors can go to www.Recreation.Gov or, alternatively, book reservations by calling 877-444-6777.
Campgrounds open on a staggered basis starting March 7. (See the following schedule for exact dates.)

Three of the Park’s 10 campgrounds are on NRRS from May 15-October 31:   Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont.   Cosby Campground has a limited number of reservable sites through NRRS.  Camping fees are $14 per site at the smaller, more primitive campgrounds, and $17-$23 at the larger campgrounds.
Campers have an opportunity to camp in “generator free” campsites at three campgrounds:  Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont campgrounds. Campers can reserve a site in the generator-free loop sections of Cades Cove and Elkmont campgrounds that is generator free.   At Smokemont, while there is no separate generator free designation, loops A, B, and C are managed as tents only and generator free, and RV campers who prefer a generator-free site may reserve a site in those loops.
Group Camping will be available at seven campgrounds (see schedule for opening dates) and reservations must be made through NRRS.  Group camping is available at Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, Deep Creek, Elkmont, Cades Cove, and Smokemont.  The cost for group camping ranges from $26 to $65 per site/night.
Horse Camps at Anthony Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Round Bottom, and Towstring will open April 1 and reservations are only available through NPRS.  The horse site fees are $20 at all horse camps except for Big Creek where it is $25.
Picnic Areas – There are 10 first-come, first-serve picnic areas. Open all year are Big Creek, Cades Cove, Chimney Tops, Cosby, Greenbrier, Deep Creek, and Metcalf Bottoms.  Collins Creek Picnic Area will open on March 7 and Heintooga and Look Rock are scheduled to open on May 9.  The Park’s largest picnic pavilion at Twin Creeks opens on April 1 and reservations are required through NRRS only.  Twin Creeks fees ranges from $35-$75 depending on the number of people.   In addition, picnickers can reserve five other picnic pavilions on NRRS.  They are located at Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, Metcalf Bottoms, and Greenbrier picnic areas. The cost is $20, except at Greenbrier where it is $10.

Horseback Riding  - Two riding stables will open on March 14.  These are the Smoky Mountain Riding Stable and the Cades Cove Riding Stables. The opening dates for the Sugarlands Riding Stable and the Smokemont Riding Stables are unknown at this time.  The opening of the Sugarlands Riding Stable is being delayed while new facilities are being constructed.  The Smokemont Riding Stable will be opening later in the season due to the upcoming award of a new concession contract.  In addition to horseback rides which cost $20 per horse per rider, Cades Cove Riding Stable also offers buggy rides ($7.50 per person) and hayrides ($6 per person), as well as special ranger-led hayrides ($8.00 per person).

LeConte Lodge, accessible only by trail, will open on March 24.
Reservations are required and can be made by calling 865/429-5704, fax 865/774-0045 or e:mail reservations@lecontelodge.com.  One night at the lodge costs $97 per adult and $76.50 for children 10 and under (tax not included).  The price includes two meals–dinner and breakfast.