Smoky Mountains National Park to reopen over weekend

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park becomes one of the country's first national parks to reopen Saturday, some of its most popular trails will remain off limits.

Major roadways, most trails and some restroom facilities will be accessible, but it's unclear when the Laurel Falls, Chimney Tops and Alum Cave trails will reopen, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said. She said safety will be stressed as officials seek to follow federal and state guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We think that access to the three most heavily used trails just simply wouldn’t be possible with CDC social distancing guidelines," Soehn said.

The push to restore access to some of the country’s most treasured spaces comes six weeks after the park abruptly shut its gates when visitors weren’t following social distancing guidelines.

On the Tennessee-North Carolina border, the Great Smoky Mountains is the nation's most visited national park. It closed on March 24 as part of a fragmented federal approach that gives individual parks wide latitude to tailor closures to varying circumstances. The park service said about 30,000 people had entered the park each day the previous week and some popular sites were congested.

The reopening was announced after making sure the park was aligned with federal, state and local authorities and had enough personal protective gear for employees, Soehn said.

“We are going to be restoring access to the park in phases that allow us to try to honor the access to parks while also protecting the health and safety of our employees who manage the operations,” she said.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt tweeted photos Wednesday of himself meeting with park workers to herald Saturday’s reopening.

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