Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Begin Another Trail Rehabilitation
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park made another announcement stating the commencement of another extensive rehabilitation project. On May 5, the park will close the Bullhead Trail every Monday through Thursday at least until November 6, 2025. The trail will still be accessible to visitors Friday through Sunday. Once they open it on 11/6, they will resume the improvements in May 2026.
If you’re a novice hiker, you may not be aware of this trail. Why? Well, it’s 13.6 miles round-trip, offering a challenge only the avid hiker might embrace. Where does it take you? Mt. LeConte—one of the premier bucket-list destinations and the third highest peak in the Smokies.
What the park crews will work on during this 6-plus month project will be a variety of things meant to upgrade overall visitor safety. They are as follows:
Repairing tread surfaces.
Improving drainage.
Constructing trail structures in the form of staircases, turnpikes, and retaining walls.
Removing exposed rocks and roots that can be tripping hazards.
All of this work will also help protect the park’s natural resources.
Friends of the Smokies has been an invaluable partner in the betterment of the Smoky Mountains, and the Trails Forever program was established in their efforts to fund a full-time crew to help reconstruct and maintain these trails.
After the completion of the Ramsey Cascades Trail rehabilitation, the Bullhead Trail was next on the agenda. FOTS has contributed more than four millions dollars to projects that have included work on these trails: Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops, Forney Ridge, and Ramsey Cascades. Words can’t describe the assistance they’ve given to keep this park beautiful and safe for visitors, near and far.
Thank you all for reading and subscribing to my publication. I hope to keep you updated on all the news happening in the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg. Stay tuned for my tumultuous month-in-review soon, plus much more information and tips from right here in my tourist home. You are appreciated!