Date: December 30, 2008
Contact: Bob Miller,         (865) 436-1207
Managers at Great Smoky Mountains National have announced that the Forge Creek Road, which extends from the park’s Cable Mill Visitor Center in Cades Cove to the Gregory Ridge Trailhead, has been closed until mid-March.
Park Facility Management Chief, Alan Sumeriski, said, "Normally this gravel road opens and closes throughout the winter as snow and other weather conditions permit, but recent heavy rains have left the road so saturated and spongy that allowing traffic on it now would necessitate extensive repairs come spring."
The closure will not affect the paved Cades Cove Loop Road used by most visitors, but it will add about two miles to the 5.7 mile hike (one-way) to the scenic Gregory’s Bald. |
