What’s open and what's closed at Great Smoky Mountains National Park during shutdown

A car enters the Cades Cove Loop at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the 30th day of the government shutdown on Oct. 30, 2025.

Is Cades Cove open now? What about Sugarlands Visitor Center? Do you need a parking tag to visit the country’s most-visited national park?

Visitors have lots of questions surrounding Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the federal government shutdown verges on record status The park remains open, providing basic and essential services, through Jan. 4, but what does that mean?

Local agencies and government bodies will continue funding the national park's essential operations through the new year, at a scaled-back level. Though some park employees will be furloughed under the new agreement, visitor services will operate as normal. And then some seasonal facilities will close throughout November and December, as the typically do during winter.

Here’s what you need to know about visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the government shutdown.

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Is Cades Cove closed due to the government shutdown?

The latest agreement allows popular spots in the park to remain open, including Cades Cove Loop Road, Cades Cove Campground and Cades Cove Visitor Center.

The Cades Cove picnic area will remain open, too. However, it closed on Oct. 27 due to water pump failure and was still listed as closed as of Nov. 3, according to the park website. The picnic area will presumably be open to visitors once the water pump issue is fixed.

When the shutdown began Oct. 1, the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop was initially closed and was not accessible by car. But hikers and cyclists went around the barrier at their own risk. The scenic route re-opened Oct. 4 after funding from local and state partners kicked in.

Is U.S. Highway 441 from Cherokee to Gatlinburg open today?

Newfound Gap Road/U.S. 441 is open to traffic. The road is a federal highway between Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina, running through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. An average of 5,000 vehicles per day travel the road, according to the park.

The road provides access to popular sites such as the Kuwohi lookout tower, Newfound Gap, the Appalachian Trail and the Sugarlands and Oconaluftee visitor centers.

The following roads within the park are open as of Nov. 3:

Newfound Gap Road, Cades Cove Loop Road, Upper Tremont Road, Wear Cove Road, Cataloochee Road and the Foothills Parkway are open year-round, but are subject to closure due to snow, ice and other hazardous weather events.
Kuwohi Road is open until Nov. 30 and is subject to closure due to snow, ice and other hazardous weather events.
Parson Branch Road and Rich Mountain Road are open until Nov. 9.
Little Greenbrier Road is open until Nov. 29.
Forge Creek Road is open until Dec. 31 and is subject to closure due to snow, ice and other hazardous weather events.

The best place to check for road closures and updates in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on the “Current Conditions” page on the park’s official website, according to Jim Matheny, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Friends of the Smokies, which is among the organizations funding the park during the shutdown.

What is closed at Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Kuwohi Trail and Kuwohi Observation Tower are temporarily closed as of Oct. 30 due to icy conditions, according to the park website. There is no access to the Kuwohi Observation Tower, the site states.
Cades Cove Picnic Area closed on Oct. 27 due to water pump failure. It remained closed on Nov. 3, according to the park website.

There are other closures that began before the shutdown. These closures are because of maintenance work and Hurricane Helene rehabilitation work.

Updated information about park closures is available at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm and nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.

Do I need a parking tag to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Unlike some other national parks, Great Smoky Mountains National Park does not charge an entrance fee. However, the park does require parking tags.

Parking tags are required for all vehicles parking for longer than 15 minutes. A daily tag costs $5 and a weekly tag costs $15; both are available from kiosks around the park, visitor centers and specified welcome centers and businesses outside the park.

A list of locations selling parking tags is at nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fees.htm. Tags also can be purchased online at recreation.gov and printed out ahead of time.

The funding from local partners is partially offset by revenues from the parking tag program and from recreation in the park. The new cost to keep the park open with basic services and reduced staffing is about $80,000 per week.

What is open at Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the government shutdown?

Restrooms, emergency services, campgrounds, all visitor centers and picnic areas will remain open through Jan. 4 thanks to funding from local and state agencies. The exceptions are for scheduled seasonal closures and closures due to weather or maintenance.

Visitor centers

Sugarlands, Cades Cove and Oconaluftee visitor centers are open year-round.
Kuwohi Visitor Center will close as planned Nov. 30.

Hiking and trails

Most hiking trails are open year-round. Some trailheads might be inaccessible to motor vehicles due to seasonal or weather-related road closures.
Some trails in the Cataloochee and Big Creek areas remain closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. Hikers should use extra caution when on open trails in these areas.

Campgrounds and picnic areas

Cades Cove Campground and Smokemont Campground are open. Elkmont Campground closes Nov. 30, as normal.
The Cades Cove, Deep Creek, Greenbrier and Metcalf Bottoms picnic areas are open. Chimneys Picnic Area closes Nov. 30, as normal.

Park concessions