Partner Organizations Enhance National Park Experience
Posted by Leif Palmer in Things to Do
When you think about visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you're likely to think first of the most obvious ways that most of us utilize the most visited national park in the nation. The park's hundreds of square miles are a place of beauty and majesty where visitors of all ages can play, relax, explore and learn. On any given day, you'll find park guests hiking trails, visiting historic structures and locations, fishing, picnicking, cycling and camping.
But there are many other ways to experience the park that are designed to complement and enhance visitors' appreciation and enjoyment of its preserved natural environment. A lot of folks aren't familiar with them (both locals and out-of-towners), which is why we're sharing an overview of the park's partner organizations and the many ways visitors and park supporters can get involved.
- Friends of the Smokies(Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park) is a non-profit fund-raising organization that offers guided hikes and events that increase awareness of and support the national park. Hikes vary in distance and difficulty, and feature trails in both North Carolina and Tennessee. Expert guides include noted authors and wellness professionals.
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- Great Smoky Mountains Associationoffers hikes and activities that enhance the knowledge and appreciation of the national park. The programs cover a variety of topics from cultural activities, night walks, and guided hikes.
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- Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremontis a year-round residential environmental education center in the Smokies that offers workshops and programs for everyone from grade-school children to Elderhostel groups and teachers. Programs may include summer camps, family camps, naturalist workshops, hiking adventures and more.
- Smoky Mountain Field Schooloffers workshops, day hikes, family adventures and more. Programs cover such topics as synchronous fireflies, butterflies, wildflowers, mushrooms, old-growth forests, salamanders, stream life, elk, bears, tracking, early settlers and Native Americans.
You can learn more about these programs by visiting the national park website at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/partner-programs.htm and clicking the link to go to each organization's respective website.
Even if you're visiting from out of town, if you start planning your trip far enough in advance, you can still very likely find a specific program that will match up with your travel schedule and allow you to participate without making an ongoing commitment. The programs are user-friendly, so most of them are designed to appeal to and accommodate the park's 9-million-plus annual visitors.
Our guests staying in our cabins in Pigeon Forge will find traveling to the national park to be a simple endeavor. Most of our properties are near the Wears Valley entrance to the park, which is convenient to the Tremont institute as well as other popular destinations like Cades Cove. The entrance doesn't see nearly the amount of traffic that the other major park gateways do, which makes accessing the park a breeze.
About Leif Palmer
Leif Palmer loves residing in the Smoky Mountains. He is an avid outdoorsman: rowing for exercise on the lake, trail hiking, and free climbing rocks in the mountains. He indulges his arty side by periodically beating up pieces of marble by sculpting. He is always frustrated by his inability to sink long putts, and hates his curly hair (but his wife loves it). Leif has been known to muster enough courage to change a diaper, and hopes his son will become a chip off the old block.
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