Great Smoky Mountains National Park facilities will close in the government shutdown
The federal government shutdown means facilities in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be closed, including Cades Cove, though some roads and trails will remain open.
After failing to pass a stopgap spending bill, the shutdown began Oct. 1, meaning thousands of federal workers are furloughed or working without pay, though the White House is considering layoffs rather than temporary furloughs.
A new National Park Service contingency plan guides workers on what to close. A Great Smoky Mountains National Park spokesperson did not answer questions from Knox News before the shutdown or the day it started.
No one knows how long the shutdown will last.
The bottom line for visitors is that many of the park's buildings will close and access to popular sites might be restricted. Essentially, roads and trails will remain open but services such as trash pickup and restroom cleaning cannot be ensured during the entirety of a shutdown.
National parks that charge fees can provide some basic services, including trash collection and campground maintenance. Great Smoky Mountains National Park collects parking fees but hasn't announced whether it plans to use the fees to keep the park clean.
Here's what visitors can expect.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park roads and trails will remain open
A contingency plan published by the U.S. Department of the Interior and released just before the shutdown says, “NPS is conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services."
The park posted a more detailed list of closures Oct. 1 which included the following:
- Cades Cove Loop Road
- Cades Cove Picnic Area
- Cades Cove Visitor Center
- Chimneys Picnic Area
- Sugarlands Visitor Center
Most park roads and trails will remain open though many visitor services, including restrooms and visitor centers, are slated to be closed under the contigency plan, although they were open Oct. 1. In a previous shutdown, this led to overflowing garbage cans and damage from drivers taking their vehicles off-roading.
"As a general rule, if a facility or area is locked or secured during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, etc.) it should be locked or secured for the duration of the shutdown," the instructions say.
Social media updates on trail and road conditions will not be provided.
And if problems build up, officials are allowed shut off sections of the park.
"If visitor access becomes a safety, health or resource protection issue (weather, road conditions, resource damage, garbage build-up to the extent that it endangers human health or wildlife, etc.), the area must be closed," the plan says.
Operators of the LeConte Lodge inside the park said the lodge is open and they will keep guests updated on any changes.
"LeConte Lodge remains OPEN and accessible, hosting overnight guests as scheduled and providing all visitor services as normal at this time. We will continue to provide updates as we receive new information from the NPS."
Not everything is closed, though. Several visitor centers not staffed by park personnel will remain open and restrooms in Sugarlands will be open, according to Smokies Life CEO Jacqueline Harp. Those centers remaining open include:
- Oconaluftee Visitor Center
- Kuwohi Visitor Center
- Gatlinburg Welcome Center (outside of the park)
- Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend (outside the park)
- Swain County Visitor Center and Heritage Museum (outside the park)
Safety workers are on the clock
The park service will furlough most employees but will keep some law enforcement and emergency crews available as needed, as well as fire crews.
Federal agencies classify their workers either as “essential” or “nonessential.”
Workers identified as essential continue to work, but might not be paid right away. On the other hand, nonessential workers are furloughed and are not allowed to work or to be paid until the government reopens, according to a breakdown compiled by Reuters.
About 9,200 park service employees are expected to be furloughed.
What do I do with my camping reservation?
How long will the Smokies be closed during the shutdown?
No one knows how long the shutdown will last.
Eventually, last time around, the park service used some of its recreation fees to reopen a few facilities such as campgrounds and restrooms as the shutdown dragged on. Park supporter groups Friends of the Smokies and what was known then as Great Smoky Mountains Association used their money to help clean up messes left behind as restrooms were closed and garbage pickup slowed down.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
A visitor to Great Smoky Mountains National Park pulls on the locked door of the closed Sugarlands Visitor Center on Oct. 1, the first day of the federal government shutdown.
