Displaying items by tag: is cades cove open
Monday, 03 November 2025 15:11
Updated 11/3: Great Smoky Mountains National Park gets shutdown reprieve through Jan. 4
The crest of the Great Smoky Mountains is seen from the Foothills Parkway looking east. Thomas Fraser/Hellbender PressLocal and state partners will continue funding park during shutdown; some critical work will be suspended
Jim Matheny is Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park communications director.
GATLINBURG — Amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, the nonprofit Friends of the Smokies will continue to provide funding to ensure Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains open with basic visitor services and limited staffing from through Jan. 4, 2026.
The latest agreement allows the popular Cades Cove Loop Road to remain open to the public along with all visitor centers and picnic areas that are normally open this time of year.
Friends of the Smokies joined a partnership of state and local entities that funded the reopening and full staffing of the national park from Oct. 4 through Nov. 2. During that time, all furloughed park employees returned to work, received paychecks, and continued their efforts to serve visitors and protect the park during the busiest tourism month of the year. Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts an average of more than 1.6 million visitors each October.
As the national park transitions to a relatively slower visitation season, the latest agreement from Nov. 3, 2025, through Jan. 4, 2026, will reduce the funded staff positions to those directly related to basic visitor services. Many park employees will still be furloughed.
The official agreement to keep the park open is specifically between Sevier County Government and the National Park Service. Under the arrangement, Sevier County pays the federal government directly and the other partners pay their share to Sevier County. The funding effort has been supported by Sevier County, the cities of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Blount County, the State of Tennessee's Department of Tourism, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Friends of the Smokies.
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