Newfound Gap Road, Scenic Byways Corridor Management Plan

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Newfound Gap Road is a 31-mile corridor through the Park that allows travelers from North Carolina or Tennessee to access the other side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park without travelling around the mountain ridge or outside of the Park. Over 5 million motorists annually enter the Park using Newfound Gap Road, making it the most traveled road in the Park. A primary purpose of the route's development was to allow visitors to experience, through leisure motor travel, the unique natural and cultural resources of the Southern Appalachian Mountains which are conserved and interpreted by the Park.

Newfound Gap Road is a designated state scenic highway in both Tennessee and North Carolina. As part of the eligibility process for its designation as a National Scenic Byway, the Park has prepared a Corridor Management Plan summarizing policies to maintain the route's outstanding natural, scenic and historic qualities, and steps that will further preserve and enhance the visitor experience. A draft of this document was released for public comment in early 2017. The comments received during this period were reviewed and considered in the preparation of the final Newfound Gap Road Scenic Corridor Management Plan.