Arboretum plans geocaching adventure
 

Arboretum plans geocaching adventure

Geocaching will be the main topic on the agenda Saturday, Nov. 1, at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. This…
Read More

Comment

Park offers reward for information on theft
 

Park offers reward for information on theft

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are offering a reward for information after artifacts were stolen from a locked display…
Read More

Comment

Learn how to keep gardening as temps dip
 

Learn how to keep gardening as temps dip

A workshop on winter gardening and spring garden prep to teach gardeners how to avoid putting growing season to bed…
Read More

Comment

Celebrate Halloween and fall at NOC
 

Celebrate Halloween and fall at NOC

Nantahala Outdoor Center’s annual NOCtoberfest event will celebrate leaf season in the Smokies from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday,…
Read More

Comment

Comment open for boater access trails
 

Comment open for boater access trails

An environmental analysis released by the U.S. Forest Service is proposing five boater access trails in national forests in South…
Read More

Comment

Photographer presents Blue Ridge vistas guide
 

Photographer presents Blue Ridge vistas guide

Photographer and author Tim Barnwell will present his new book, Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25,…
Read More

Comment

Rangers rescue family of six
 

Rangers rescue family of six

When George and Heather Ferrell, of Louisiana, began to hike up Mount LeConte Oct. 18 with their four children, they…
Read More

Comment

Kayak Lake Junaluska
 

Kayak Lake Junaluska

A kayaking program from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23 at Lake Junaluska will give paddlers of all skill levels a…
Read More

Comment

Plowing demos at Darnell Farms
 

Plowing demos at Darnell Farms

The annual Fall Plow Day at Darnell Farms in Bryson City Saturday, Oct. 25, will feature a full day of…
Read More

Comment

Park plans prescribed burn in Cataloochee
 

Park plans prescribed burn in Cataloochee

Prescribed burns will light up the Canadian Top Knob, Mathews Branch and Noland Mountain areas adjacent to Cataloochee Valley in…
Read More

Comment

Lead the way: Haywood artist releases frame-worthy trail guides
 

Lead the way: Haywood artist releases frame-worthy trail guides

Ken Czarnomski has always loved sketching and writing, but as a department chair for the sustainability and construction management programs…
Read More

Comment

Lost or found? Viral article about ‘forgotten’ Smokies town raises eyebrows
 

Lost or found? Viral article about ‘forgotten’ Smokies town raises eyebrows

A lot of people familiar with Great Smoky Mountains National Park got a surprise earlier this month when an article…
Read More

Comment

Flame on!
 

Flame on!

Color is starting to spill down the mountainsides once again. I recently received an email from a reader asking about…
Read More

Comment

Do you like elk?
 

Do you like elk?

Cataloochee hike to feature elk and history A full-day hike Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Cataloochee Valley area of the…
Read More

Comment

Clean water grants fund WNC projects
 

Clean water grants fund WNC projects

Western North Carolina won big in the newest round of grants from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The…
Read More

Comment

Bryson fly shop to hold grand opening
 

Bryson fly shop to hold grand opening

Tuckaseegee Fly Shop, a new Bryson City business offering the town’s only full service fly shop, will hold its grand…
Read More

Comment

Stocking cancelled in three Jackson lakes
 

Stocking cancelled in three Jackson lakes

Three lakes in Jackson County will go without trout stocking this fall due to low water levels stemming from maintenance…
Read More

Comment

Year of the acorn in WNC
 

Year of the acorn in WNC

It looks like 2014 will go into the history books as “The Year of the Acorn,” according to Friends of…
Read More

Comment

What do you want from your national forest?
 

What do you want from your national forest?

The U.S. Forest Service is holding the next round of public meetings on the Forest Management Plan for Pisgah and…
Read More

Comment

Swain students tackle trash in the Big Sweep
 

Swain students tackle trash in the Big Sweep

Swain Middle School students in the New Century Scholars Program and the afterschool program volunteered to help remove over 45…
Read More

Comment

Black Balsam Road reopens
 

Black Balsam Road reopens

Black Balsam Road is now open, restoring access to a popular trailhead and jumping off point for the Shining Rock…
Read More

Comment

A bon voyage: Cherokee teacher wins national fellowship, brings global perspective to classroom
 

A bon voyage: Cherokee teacher wins national fellowship, brings global perspective to classroom

After landing back in the Eastern Time Zone, Jessica Metz had a hard time keeping her thoughts still. Eight days…
Read More

Comment

Bethel Organization honored as heritage keeper
 

Bethel Organization honored as heritage keeper

The Bethel Rural Community Organization was recognized with the Mountain Heritage award at the recent Mountain Heritage Day festival held…
Read More

Comment

Get your fall on with Lake Logan paddle
 

Get your fall on with Lake Logan paddle

A paddle tour of Lake Logan in Haywood County will be held on Sunday, Oct. 19, with Haywood Waterways Association,…
Read More

Comment

Putting Haywood on the road-cycling map
 

Putting Haywood on the road-cycling map

A workshop and strategy session on making Haywood County a premier road biking destination will be held from 1:30 to…
Read More

Comment

Student project looks to revitalize city park
 

Student project looks to revitalize city park

An effort to breathe new life into a neglected Waynesville park will be the focus of the next Trout Unlimited…
Read More

Comment

Smokies have new acting superintendent
 

Smokies have new acting superintendent

Great Smoky Mountains National Parkhas a new acting superintendent following Dale Ditmanson retired as superintendent in January after nearly 10…
Read More

Comment

Grants to help farmers branch out
 

Grants to help farmers branch out

Western North Carolina farmers can apply for farm diversification grants over the next two years totaling $340,000.
Read More

Comment

Still time if you hurry
 

Still time if you hurry

I’ve been on the Blue Ridge Parkway the last couple of weekends and have made it a point to stop…
Read More

Comment

Gardening Grant helps at the Open Door
 

Gardening Grant helps at the Open Door

A pair of grants from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will help improve water resources in Haywood…
Read More

Comment

Road and trail closure
 

Road and trail closure

• Ball Creek Road, a U.S. Forest Service road that begins at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and ends at Upper Nantahala…
Read More

Comment

Fall programs in the Smokies
 

Fall programs in the Smokies

A lineup of fall interpretive programs is underway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park will run through the end of…
Read More

Comment

Brook trout to join the license plate lineup
 

Brook trout to join the license plate lineup

There’s a new specialty license plate coming soon: the brook trout plate.
Read More

Comment

Declining bat populations force Smokies cave closure
 

Declining bat populations force Smokies cave closure

White-nosed bat syndrome is marching west, and as a result the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has closed the Whiteoak…
Read More

Comment

Training program partners Smokies and Southeast Asian parks
 

Training program partners Smokies and Southeast Asian parks

Cambodia and Thailand might be on the other side of the world from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but…
Read More

Comment

A dry September means fall color forecast is looking up
 

A dry September means fall color forecast is looking up

The outlook for a bright leaf season is improving, as Western Carolina University fearless fall foliage forecaster Kathy Mathews has…
Read More

Comment

Timbersports team chops its way toward season opener
 

Timbersports team chops its way toward season opener

Orange chaps clipped around their legs, Rankin Fender and Zac O’Connor square off inside the sawdust-and-bark-filled woodshed at Haywood Community…
Read More

Comment

Timbersports team to take on competition
 

Timbersports team to take on competition

Chopping, sawing, axe throwing, tree climbing, log rolling and more will be on tap during an intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet Saturday,…
Read More

Comment

Forestry to Forest Festival coming up at Cradle of Forestry
 

Forestry to Forest Festival coming up at Cradle of Forestry

The Cradle of Forestry’s Forest Festival Day will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. More than…
Read More

Comment

Smokies celebrates Wilderness Act
 

Smokies celebrates Wilderness Act

Ed Zahniser, son of the man who was widely regarded as the father of the Wilderness Act, will speak at…
Read More

Comment

NOC recognized as top 100
 

NOC recognized as top 100

Outdoor USA Magazine named Nantahala Outdoor Center, located outside Bryson City, as one of the top 100 outdoor specialty retailers…
Read More

Comment

Franklin loves the AT, and the AT loves Franklin
 

Franklin loves the AT, and the AT loves Franklin

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy recently recognized a passel of Franklin businesses and organizations for their support of the Appalachian Trail,…
Read More

Comment

Down by the water: Waynesville Rec gets busy with $25,000 worth of paddling equipment
 

Down by the water: Waynesville Rec gets busy with $25,000 worth of paddling equipment

“I’m gonna mark the spot with an X, right here,” says Tim Petrea, program supervisor for the Waynesville Parks and…
Read More

Comment

Ahead of the CuRvE: Cullowhee group look to river park for downtown revitalization
 

Ahead of the CuRvE: Cullowhee group look to river park for downtown revitalization

Downtown Cullowhee doesn’t look much like the thriving little town Rick Bennett found when he first moved to Jackson County…
Read More

Comment

Program takes on nuisance beavers
 

Program takes on nuisance beavers

Jackson County residents having problems with nuisance beavers can get help through the N.C. Beaver Management Assistance Program, locally administrated…
Read More

Comment

Get out and say goodbye
 

Get out and say goodbye

At last! I finally had a birding outing planned last Saturday – the first one since April when I helped…
Read More

Comment

NOC says thanks with weekend of fun
 

NOC says thanks with weekend of fun

The Guest Appreciation Festival at Nantahala Outdoor Center Sept. 26-28 will feature an array of activities and attractions for outdoors…
Read More

Comment

Stream volunteers wanted
 

Stream volunteers wanted

Volunteers are needed to help monitor stream quality in Haywood County, and a training program 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.…
Read More

Comment

Elk rut spells caution for Smokies visitors
 

Elk rut spells caution for Smokies visitors

It’s breeding season for elk, and that means that fields in the Cataloochee and Oconaluftee areas of the Great Smoky…
Read More

Comment

Audubon study analyzes expected impact of climate change
 

Audubon study analyzes expected impact of climate change

A National Audubon Society study of bird species in the continental United States and Canada released last week shows that…
Read More

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.