As recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of Helene, several national and state parks in the Southeast are dealing with closures and limited access due to safety concerns and staffing issues.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a popular destination that saw over 13 million visitors last year, is open but is discouraging outdoor recreation due to staffing constraints and safety worries. Some roads within the park, located in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, remain closed as per the National Park Service's announcement on Monday.
Visitors are being urged to reschedule their trips for their own safety during this time. Congaree National Park in South Carolina is closed until Thursday for infrastructure repairs and hazard mitigation.
In North Carolina, all state parks west of Interstate 77 are closed until at least October 31, including well-known parks like Chimney Rock, Crowders Mountain, and Mount Mitchell. This decision aims to limit travel in the affected areas while necessary repairs are carried out.
The Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic route along the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Virginia, is also closed for assessment of damage caused by Helene. Recovery efforts involving 99 National Park Service employees are ongoing, with no set date for reopening the closed sections.
In Florida, 32 state parks are closed to the public, while in Virginia, nine state parks have either full or partial closures. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is advising hikers to postpone their journeys on the southern part of the trail from Georgia to Rockfish Gap, Virginia, due to the extensive impact of Helene, which they describe as the largest natural disaster in the trail's century-long history.
