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Photo of visitors gathering at Laurel Falls. Some are seated on a wooden bench, most are standing, some pose for a picture in front of the upper falls.

Laurel Falls Trail Congestion Management Pilot Project Public Comment Period


Laurel Falls Trail Background Information:

The Laurel Falls trailhead is on Fighting Creek Gap Road about 5.5 miles from the Park's Gatlinburg, Tennessee entrance. The 4-mile trail leads to 80-foot high Laurel Falls at the 1.3-mile mark and then ascends to the Cove Mountain Fire Lookout. The trail is paved from the trailhead to the falls. The relatively short hike to the falls and proximity to a major park entrance makes Laurel Falls Trail one the most popular destinations in the Park with over 375,000 visitors in 2020.

Relationship to the Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan:

The National Park Service (NPS) has initiated planning efforts for the Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the Park). The Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan would focus on the 1.3-mile segment from the trailhead to the falls, and guide future trail management and visitor use. You can obtain more information and provide input on the Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan here: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/LaurelFalls. The Laurel Falls Congestion Management Pilot would serve to provide visitor use and experience data for the over-arching Trail Management Plan.

Laurel Falls Congestion Management Pilot Project:

Based on information obtained during the Visitor Experience Stewardship Engagement process in 2020, Park managers will implement a congestion management pilot project at Laurel Falls Trail in September 2021. The pilot project seeks to gain information about potential management strategies to improve the visitor experience, protect Park resources, and manage congestion and crowding. Visitor use data will be gathered during the pilot project. The information will be used to inform future visitor use management strategies and support development of the trail management plan.

The Laurel Falls Congestion Management Pilot Project will include the following elements:

• Reduction of roadside parking: Roadside parking will be reduced through a combination of signage, temporary physical barriers, and increased staffing. These measures could extend from Maloney Point to the quiet walkway parking area along Fighting Creek Gap Road.

•Shuttle service: Reducing roadside parking will reduce the overall amount of parking spaces currently used by visitors. Therefore, a commercially operated shuttle service will be provided as part of the pilot project to offer an alternative to personal vehicle-based visits and the parking reservation system. Rocky Top Tours will provide the shuttle service. Shuttles will run approximately every half hour from the Ober Gatlinburg parking lot at 300 Cottage Drive in Gatlinburg, Tennessee starting at 9:00 a.m. The last shuttle will leave the trailhead at 4:00 p.m. The shuttle will cost $5 per person. The parking lot charges $10 per vehicle.

• Timed-entry parking reservation system: To allow for better trip planning during the pilot project, Park managers will implement a timed-entry parking reservation ticket system to be administered through recreation.gov. Parking reservations will be available for official parking areas at the trailhead only. A $2 processing fee will be charged for each transaction on recreation.gov. An additional $12 per vehicle fee will be charged for a parking reservation ticket as a cost recovery mechanism to support Park operations associated with the pilot project for a total cost to the visitor of $14 per vehicle.


The information gathered during the pilot project will be wrapped into the Laurel Falls Trail Management Plan. The park welcome feedback on the congestion management pilot. In order to delineate between comments regarding the overall trail management plan and comments specific to the congestion management pilot, the park has opened a separate comment period.
 
Comment Period: Closed        Jul 20, 2021 - Aug 7, 2021
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