(GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, Tenn.) SMOKIES.LIVE – America’s most visited national park and the Smokies’ most beloved hikes is getting a major upgrade. Crews continue work improving the visitor experience to Laurel Falls Trail.
The National Park Serviced delivered an update on the progress of Laurel Falls Trail where they hope to add 50 new parking spaces and other features.
“Through this project, we’re repaving the trail, constructing viewing platforms at the upper and lower falls, and adding 50 new parking spaces, using funds from parking tags,” said Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Facebook.
Currently the upper bridge is being replaced and the formwork and rebar is in place. A new modular block wall is being in stalled for the new parking area and a new lower bridge will be built.
Laurel Falls Trail is closed from the trailhead on Fighting Creek Gap Road up to the junction with Little Greenbrier and Cove Mountain trails during construction. Laurel Falls Trail will be reopening late next summer.
Photos from the National Park Service show progress of rehabilitation of Laurel Falls Trail.
Due to the park’s popularity, many well-known waterfall hikes such as Abrams, Grotto, Laurel, and Rainbow falls are highly trafficked trails, often with limited parking and crowded paths. Together, these waterfall hikes see more than 200,000 visitors each year, according to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
To find alternative hikes while Laurel Falls is closed, visit Great Smoky Mountains website: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/waterfalls.htm
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