GATLINBURG, Tenn.-Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that as of May 8, Ramsey Cascades Trail and Ramsey Prong Road will be open Friday through Sunday each week, and on federal holidays. The trail and access to Ramsey Cascades will be closed Monday through Thursday to allow trail crews to safely finish ongoing trail rehabilitation.
Ramsey Cascades Trail has been closed since part of the trail was washed out during a flood event last summer. Trail crews rerouted 200 feet of trail, built and installed a new footlog bridge, and built four new trail structures damaged by the flood.
The remaining trail work is part of ongoing Trails Forever reconstruction efforts. Trail crews will finish repairs to the tread surface, drainage improvements, construction of trail structures, and removal of tripping hazards such as roots and rocks.
The Trails Forever program is a partnership established by the Friends of the Smokies and Great Smoky Mountains National Park to fund a permanent, highly skilled trail crew that rehabilitates high-use trails. In 2012, the Friends set up an endowment to support the program. To date, the Friends have contributed more than $2 million through the program, resulting in the full rehabilitation of Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops, and Forney Ridge trails.
Located in the Greenbrier area, the four-mile Ramsey Cascades Trail is one of the most popular trails in the park and is the only way to access the 100-foot Ramsey Cascades, the tallest waterfall in the park.
Trail and road closure status is available on the park’s Current Road, Facility, Trail and Backcountry Updates webpage.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service