Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the temporary closure of Cove Creek Road leading into Cataloochee from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29 to allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to do geotechnical drilling at an existing landslide. The closure will only be at the landslide location and will not affect access to local residents. Though all work will be conducted outside the park boundary, Cove Creek Road is a popular route to enter the Cataloochee area of the park.
Visitors interested in visiting Cataloochee during the temporary closure of Cove Creek Road will still be able to access the area via Old NC 284/Mount Sterling Road from Big Creek. Be advised that this 16–mile route is unpaved, narrow, and winding. This route is not recommended for RVs.
For more information about temporary road closures, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/grsm or follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter.
– National Park Service release
