Great Smoky Mountains: Closures Underway as Hurricane Isaias Approaches

A serious weather system is hitting Great Smoky Mountains right now, and it changes your plans in real terms if you're in the park or on your way. Hurricane Isaias is closing in on the region, and park officials have called several precautionary closures. Before you hit the road, it's worth knowing what's still open and what isn't.

First, the main artery. US 441, known as Newfound Gap Road, closes at 8 PM. It's the park's north-south crossing, the one most visitors take to get from one side to the other. As long as the closure holds, you'll need to give up that crossing and push back any leg of your trip that depended on it. We'd advise against trying to go around it on mountain backroads in this weather.

On the lodging side, Balsam Mountain Campground closes earlier, at 5 PM. If you had a night booked there, you're not left without options. Campers affected can fall back on the Deep Creek or Smokemont campgrounds, which stay open and offer an immediate alternative inside the park.

The heart of it is the wind. A high wind watch runs from late tonight through Sunday morning, while the system passes through. In a park this heavily wooded, that means a real risk of trees and branches coming down on roads and trails. We recommend steering clear of exposed forested areas and keeping an eye on the notices posted at the entrances for the whole length of the event.

This kind of alert is temporary by nature. Access reopens once the danger clears, often after crews inspect the roads. To plan your visit once things settle down, and to find the access points, campgrounds, and major routes in the area, keep the Great Smoky Mountains park guide close at hand. It'll help you rebuild your trip around whatever reopens first.