Christine Hoyer has been named Employee of the Year at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The award, which recognizes outstanding work of park employees, was presented at a public ceremony at park headquarters in Tennessee on May 7. Hoyer is the Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator in the park and she is in charge of four main park volunteer programs:...
Learn MoreOn Thursday, May 17, turn back time to the cool spring breezes of years gone by with a guided hike to the high-elevation, history-rich trail to Hemphill Bald. Hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein (“Hiking North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Heritage”), will lead, and Judy Coker of Cataloochee Ranch, which borders the park along the trail, will join the...
Learn MoreNature enthusiasts will flock to Roan Mountain this weekend for a host of hikes, workshops and programs highlighting the region’s rich natural history as part of the 54th annual Spring Naturalists Rally. The event will be held Friday through Sunday, May 4-6, at Roan Mountain State Park in Tennessee. Registration and information desks, as well as the evening programs,...
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Usually when you come here you will find a cheerful description of a scenic hike that was fun, and that I recommend for your enjoyment. Instead, I am going to suggest that you stay away from this hike if you value your safety and security. The Brush Creek and Burnett Gap Trails are so terribly maintained as to make them virtually impassible. I’m sure at one time...
Learn MoreStarting on Oct. 30, 2012 the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will close the Chimney Tops trail Monday through Thursday every week for roughly three years to do trail maintenance and recovery. The Chimney Tops trail has been a favorite for nearly all visitors that grace the Smokies. The trail will still be open on weekends. Chimney Tops is long overdue for trail...
Learn MoreWhenever the National Park Service has surveyed visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park about their planned activities while in the Park, the number one response has always been “viewing scenery – scenic views.” Over the years the number and quality of those scenic viewpoints along Park roads has gradually declined. When Park roads were...
Learn MoreThe local Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club is so anxious to introduce newbies to the great outdoors that they’ve set up a hiking program just for them. The Take-a-Hike program offers 13 hikes over the course of the year. Organizers hope participants will attend about half of them, experiencing gradually more difficult hikes at various times of the year. The...
Learn MoreHitting the trails is one of the best ways to explore the natural landscape of the Chattanooga area. Figuring out which trail to traverse is the difficult part—there are so many to choose from. “There are at least 100 trails within the Chattanooga area,” Che Carico, a hike coordinator with the Chattanooga Hiking Club, said. “We are incredibly blessed by the...
Learn MoreThe partnership for the Graysville Mountain Acquisition worked together for over two years to achieve this milestone that helps complete the 300-mile Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail, which starts in Cumberland Gap National Park on the Kentucky/Virginia/Tennessee border and stretches south to the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park just outside Chattanooga,...
Learn MoreThe Wolf River Greenway in Memphis will connect to the Germantown Greenway this summer – making it the first time two cities will be joined in Shelby County with an off-road paved trail for joggers, walkers and bicyclists. Once the two projects meet and are open, residents will be able to travel close to five miles along the Wolf River and then continue on the paved...
Learn MoreThe Tennessee State Parks system is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2012. The Tennessee State Parks system was established through legislation in 1937, and those laws – with modifications and additions over the years – remain the framework for park operations today. As in most states, it was state cooperation with federal programs that instigated...
Learn MoreFor many area commuters, Stringer’s Ridge is the tunnel they pass through to and from work each day. But to Chattanooga area preservationists, it’s a feature unique to the city—a 100 acre forest minutes from 50,000 people. “(Chattanooga) has something unique, I’ve not seen anything like this any where else,” Jim Johnson, a local...
Learn MoreJust below the 2,100-foot crest of House Mountain, TN the terrain gets steep and rocky. It’s here that the Mountain Trail — one of two footpaths that lead up House Mountain — begins to zigzag through the boulder fields in a series of switchbacks that lead to the top. In recent years, the trails at House Mountain State Natural Area have suffered from...
Learn MoreThere are roughly 850 miles of hiking trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There’s also a lot of history beneath those trails we walk along today. How were they established? Who blazed them, and why? Some of the earliest trails in what would become the national park were simple game trails, created by migrating bison, elk, and other large animals. Many of...
Learn MoreThe dramatic gorges, waterfalls and forests of the Southern Cumberland Plateau 80 miles southeast of Nashville have drawn Middle Tennessee residents for more than a century to enjoy cool mountain air and clean water. But with thousands of acres of privately owned timberland poised to be sold, the natural playground for sightseers, rock climbers, hikers and hunters is...
Learn MoreThree days a week — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — he leads the llama team to LeConte Lodge atop Mount LeConte, the third highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After delivering clean linens and fresh food, he repacks the panniers with dirty laundry and garbage and returns to the parking lot. Householder and the llamas hike 40 miles a week while the...
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As Washington policymakers await action by the Congressional Super Committee, the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) released a new report titled “Made in America: Investing in National Parks for Our Heritage and Our Economy,” which details how national parks and visitors could be impacted if the Super Committee fails and mandatory...
Learn MoreA few years ago, the University of Tennessee and the U.S. Forest Service surveyed public opinion about recreational uses of the Cherokee National Forest. Their research found the most popular recreational uses of the forest are driving for pleasure, viewing and photographing wildlife, fish or scenery, picnicking, day hiking and visiting primitive areas. Strong support was...
Learn MoreNow that we are officially into fall and the leaves are on the brink of their autumn colorfest, it’s time to plan some walks or hikes at any number of the gorgeous natural areas that surround us. Talk about a cheap treat! Middle Tennessee is blessed with umpteen trails, waterfalls and overlooks that come with a wow factor each fall. A great, super-easy way to get moving...
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You don’t have to climb to 6000 feet to get spectacular views of the Smoky Mountains. In fact, Mt. Cammerer has some of the best views in the national park, yet doesn’t even reach 5000 feet. You can see Snowbird Mountain and the Pigeon River Gorge to the east, and Mt. Sterling south, and the full expanse of the national park to the west. Mt. Cammerer was...
Learn MoreThe Tail of the Dragon, that world-famous, 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 129 with 318 curves — may be a motorcyclist’s dream, but it’s no fun if you’re sitting in the passenger seat of a car. One of the best reasons to brave this stomach-churning stretch of road is the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness Area. Of the wilderness area’s 17,394...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, publisher of Meanderthals, and a passionate hiker. I live in western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my doorstep, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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