TrailManor Owner's Forum  

Go Back   TrailManor Owner's Forum > TrailManor Owners Community > General TrailManor Topics
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-12-2013, 08:53 PM   #1
countrygirl
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,346
Default Some Parks set to close in the Smokey Mountains

March 12, 2013
Great Smoky Mountains National Park announces closures
By Kelly Cauthorn @ 12:46 PM :: :: 0 Comments :: :: RV Parks, Public, Top Stories
Actions: E-mail | Permalink | Comments (0) | Kick it! | DZone it! | del.icio.us

GATLINBURG, Tenn. -- Great Smoky Mountains National Park has altered the facility opening dates for many park facilities for the 2013 season, the park announced today. The delayed openings are a direct result of staffing and hiring limitations which impacted the Park's ability to conduct preseason preparation work on its facilities. Because of the five percent budget reduction that is in place, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closing three campgrounds, two picnic areas, one horse camp, and associated access roads, for the 2013 season.

Facilities to remain closed in 2013 include: the Look Rock Campground and Picnic Area and the Abrams Creek Campground in Tennessee; the Balsam Mountain Campground and Picnic Area (including the associated Heintooga Ridge and Balsam Mountain Roads) and the Tow String Horse Camp in North Carolina.

"We regret this will cause inconvenience to park visitors," stated Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson, "especially those who have enjoyed these more remote areas of the Smokies year after year. We have focused our workforce to maximize the utilization of facilities throughout the remainder of the park in order to serve and provide recreational opportunities for our millions of park visitors."

The schedule follows:

Roads - Secondary Roads are scheduled as follows: Round Bottom/Straight Fork Road will open April 1; Parsons Branch and Rich Mountain Road will both open on April 5; Roaring Fork Nature Trail and Little Greenbrier are set to open April 1. Heintooga Ridge and Balsam Mountain Roads will be closed for the season.

Clingmans Dome Road has been open dependent on weather conditions since Feb. 15, but will be officially open for the summer season on March 29.

Operating Hours for Visitor Centers - The three visitor centers are open daily and the operating hours through March are as follows: Sugarlands Visitor Center, near Gatlinburg, Tenn., 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Cades Cove Visitor Center, near Townsend, Tenn., 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, N.C., hours will be 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Operating Hours for Backcountry Office - The Backcountry Office located at the Sugarlands Visitor Center, near Gatlinburg, Tenn., is open every day from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Backcountry reservations and permits can be obtained online at www.smokiespermits.nps.gov or by calling 865.436.1297.

Recreation.gov provides visitors an opportunity to make reservations to many federally-managed recreation areas, including National Park Service areas, all across the U.S. The park's developed campgrounds of Cataloochee, Elkmont, Cades Cove, Smokemont, and some sites at Cosby are on the reservation system for at least a portion of their seasons. The system allows campers to reserve specific campsites and to make reservations six months in advance. Group campsites and picnic pavilions can be reserved up to 12 months in advance. To make reservations at the five campgrounds, and all group campsites, horse camps, and picnic shelters, visitors can go to www.Recreation.gov or, alternatively, book reservations by calling 877.444.6777.

Campgrounds will open on a staggered schedule starting April 12 (See the following schedule for exact dates.) For the five campgrounds on Recreation.gov, reservations are required at Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont for the period from May 15-October 31 (for other dates the three campgrounds are first come, first serve); Cataloochee Campground--all sites must be reserved throughout its season; and Cosby Campground, which has mostly first-come, first-served campsites, has a limited number of reservable sites during its season. Camping fees range from $14 to $23 per site/night.

Campers have an opportunity to camp in "generator free" campsites at three campgrounds: Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont campgrounds. The generator-free loop sections of these campgrounds are reservable through Recreation.gov.

Group Camping will be available at seven campgrounds (see schedule for opening dates) and reservations must be made through Recreation.gov. Group camping is available at Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, Deep Creek, Elkmont, Cades Cove, and Smokemont. The cost for group camping ranges from $26 to $65 per site/night.

Horse Camps at Anthony Creek, Cataloochee, and Round Bottom will open April 1 and at Big Creek on April 12. Tow Sting will be closed for the season. Reservations are only available through Recreation.gov. The horse site fees are $20 at all horse camps except for Big Creek where it is $25.

Picnic Areas - There are 8 first-come, first-serve picnic areas open during 2013. Open all year are Cades Cove, Greenbrier, Deep Creek, and Metcalf Bottoms. Chimneys picnic area will open on March 15 and Collins Creek will open on March 29. Big Creek and Cosby picnic areas will open shortly after on April 12. Heintooga and Look Rock will be closed for the season.

The Park's largest picnic pavilion at Twin Creeks opens on April 1 and reservations are required through Recreation.gov only. Twin Creeks fees range from $35-$75 depending on the number of people. In addition, picnickers can reserve five other picnic pavilions on Recreation.gov. They are located at Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, Metcalf Bottoms, and Greenbrier picnic areas. The cost is $20, except at Greenbrier where it is $10.

Horseback Riding - The opening dates for the three horseback concessions located on the Tennessee side of the Park are: Smoky Mountain Riding Stable on March 8; Sugarlands Riding Stable on March 8; and Cades Cove is scheduled on March 9. In addition to horseback rides which cost $30 per horse per rider for one-hour rides, Cades Cove Riding Stable will offer their customary carriage rides and hay rides, and wheelchair accessible carriage and hay rides. The Smokemont Riding Stable in North Carolina will open March 23 and, in addition to guided horseback rides, will provide visitors with a chance to experience a horse-drawn wagon ride along the route of the historic Oconaluftee Turnpike.

LeConte Lodge, accessible only by trail, will open on March 25. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 865.429.5704, fax 865.774.0045 or email: [email protected]. One night at the lodge costs $126 per adult and $85 for children 10 and under (tax not included). The price includes two meals--dinner and breakfast. Day hikers and backpackers can purchase a prepared bag or dining room lunch and snacks/beverages at the lodge. Reservations are required for the dining room lunch.

Campground Concessions - The Cades Cove Campground Store has been open since March 2. The store provides groceries, camping supplies, firewood, ice, vending, limited food service, souvenirs, and bike rentals. The Cades Cove Store has multi-speed comfort or mountain bikes available for rent, in addition to single speed cruisers. The Elkmont Campground concession opened on March 8. The concession provides firewood, ice, limited camper convenience items, and vending of soft drinks, newspapers, and snacks.

Campground Schedule:

North Carolina:

Balsam Mountain, Closed for the Season
Big Creek: Fee: $14; Open: April 12, Group Sites: April 12
Cataloochee: Fee: $20; Open: March 15; Group Sites: March 15
Deep Creek: Fee: $17; Open: April 12; Group Sites: April 12
Smokemont: Fee: $17, $20; Open: Year-round; Group Sites: May 15

Tennessee:

Abrams Creek: Closed for the Season
Cades Cove: Fee: $17, $20; Open: Year-round; Group Sites: March 8
Cosby: Fee: $14; Open: April 12; Group Sites: April 12
Elkmont: Fee: $17, $20; Open: March 8; Group Sites: April 21

SOURCE: Great Smoky Mountains National Park press release
__________________
2019 FORD 150.
2007 Trailmanor 3124KS...still got it.
Robin 1,000 Lb Weight Distributing Hitch ...still got it.

We replaced the tires on the TM July 2017 I will update when I have time to get the specs

What's new...we went to all LED lighting and love them.

New 3/25/16 two new horizontal propane tanks.
countrygirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2013, 09:22 PM   #2
LoveToCamp
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Centennial, Colorado
Posts: 885
Default

That is a shame - not opening some of the campgrounds.

Makes me wonder - How many of us would be willing to pay $2 - $5 more per night to keep NF, NP, and State Park campgrounds open? This is assuming, which I have to doubt, that the individual parks keep all their entry fees.

Many of the NF, NP, and SP campgrounds I have researched in Utah and SD for trips this summer, don't have hookups. Personally (and I know I am cheap), I think more than $18 for a no-hookup site is about as much as I want to pay. But, I also look for the no-hookup campgrounds, as I don't need them. I know I am paying for maintenance, wages, etc, so I know campgrounds are not free to run.

What is your perception of "reasonable" for campground fees, both with and without hookups?
LoveToCamp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-13-2013, 05:56 AM   #3
HIKERZ
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 275
Default

these are the small campgrounds and some are only picnic areas. but closing them makes the news i think abrahms creek is only about 15 undeveloped sites
__________________
2016 F150 5.0
2008 2720sl
HIKERZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-13-2013, 07:12 AM   #4
countrygirl
TrailManor Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,346
Default

Published March 11, 2013, 07:31 PM
Thune: Administration ‘playing politics’ with Black Hills campground closure
Sen. John Thune is asking if the National Park Service is “playing politics” by closing Wind Cave National Park’s 64-site Elk Mountain Campground.
By: Tom Lawrence, The Daily Republic
John Thune

John Thune
Talk about it
Sen. John Thune is asking if the National Park Service is “playing politics” by closing Wind Cave National Park’s 64-site Elk Mountain Campground.

Thune, R-S.D., sent a letter Monday to National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis questioning whether the NPS is playing politics in deciding to close the facility. The NPS decision to close the Elk Mountain Campground came following the implementation of sequestration and, according to the senator, appears to substantiate reports that the NPS is intentionally trying to make the cuts more visible to the public.

Thune asked for information from the NPS regarding its analysis that closing the Elk Mountain Campground, which generates revenue for the park, and reducing visitor center hours is more cost-effective than making targeted cuts elsewhere.

“It seems difficult to say with a straight face that completely eliminating a source of revenue for the National Park Service is a smart, targeted cut,” Thune said in a release from his office. “Instead of cuts that reduce wasteful and duplicative spending, the administration’s politically calculated cuts are targeting facilities like the campground that actually serve as a revenue source for the park. It appears NPS is just another agency following the White House’s lead in trying to find the cuts that can trigger a press release before looking to internal cost-saving measures that are less newsworthy.”

Wind Cave National Park Superintendent Vidal Davila said budget cuts forced the park to close the campground.

“The sequestration has forced us to make some tough decisions that will impact visitors to Wind Cave National Park,” Davila said in a park statement. “People will have fewer opportunities to tour Wind Cave, the park’s primary resource, as a result of less staff.”

Davila said two summer maintenance employees and interpretive rangers who present evening campfire programs will not be needed now unless the campground re-opens.

Wind Cave National Park, located 10 miles north of Hot Springs at the southwestern edge of South Dakota, was formed in 1903 as the seventh national park. Its name comes from the air that escapes from the cave openings as weather changes.

In 2011, 6,600 visitors used the campground, and 1,700 visitors participated in campfire programs.

Source: http://rvdailyreport.com/News/ctl/Ar...d-closure.aspx
__________________
2019 FORD 150.
2007 Trailmanor 3124KS...still got it.
Robin 1,000 Lb Weight Distributing Hitch ...still got it.

We replaced the tires on the TM July 2017 I will update when I have time to get the specs

What's new...we went to all LED lighting and love them.

New 3/25/16 two new horizontal propane tanks.
countrygirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-13-2013, 10:08 PM   #5
B_and_D
Site Sponsor
 
B_and_D's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Santa Cruz County, CA
Posts: 2,405
Default

They say things like this every few years here in CA, but they don't end up closing the parks.
__________________
'97 2720 & '01 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4
2011 & 2017 Prii, 10'x18' & 10'x9' Tents
B_and_D is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2013, 05:21 AM   #6
scrubjaysnest
TrailManor Master
 
scrubjaysnest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Big Bend area, Florida
Posts: 2,120
Default

We stayed at the Elk Mountain CG in 2010, it was convenient and didn't require reservations like the nearby State Park. Out side of the above reasons it is no loss. Like the Badlands NP CG the sites are just pullouts barely off the loop road and are some of the worst the park service has to offer. That said it still takes money to maintain the facilities. Shame on the politicians.
__________________
Axis 24.1 E 450 chassis, 6 spd tranny. GVWR 14500# GVCWR 22000 # GW(scales) 12400 #
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

mods: 2- 100 watt solar panels, on roof, 300 watts portable



“They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin
scrubjaysnest is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 2022 Trailmanor Owners Page.