This Land, Your Land

Key roads, parking lots and a stretch of the Appalachian Trail will close for the 75th anniversary rededication at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported Saturday.

Many dignitaries and elected officials are expected to attend the September 2 ceremony at Newfound Gap, which is at noon with ancillary events beginning at 10:30 a.m. "While numerous agencies and members of Congress have invited him, it remains unclear whether President Barack Obama will attend," the newspaper says.

In addition to enduring individual security screenings, those attending will not be allowed to bring backpacks, large bags, chairs, umbrellas, coolers, or outside food or beverage. Food will be available on site for purchase.

The Park Service says in an August 3 news release that it expects 2,000 invited guests at the same spot on the North Carolina/Tennessee border where FDR dedicated Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1940.

From 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 1, to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Newfound Gap Road will be closed from the gate at Smokemont, near the Cherokee entrance, to Sugarlands, near Gatlinburg, Tenn., according to the park service memo, the newspaper says.

Also, beginning at 8 p.m. August 31, Clingmans Dome Road will be closed at the gate at Newfound Gap Road; parking lots at Clingmans Dome, Newfound Gap and Oconaluftee Overlook will be off limits; and park facilities reached via these roads will close. The Clingmans Dome lot will reopen at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and the others will reopen at 8 a.m. Thursday.

No backcountry campsites or shelters will be closed in conjunction with the ceremony, the paper says in another report.

The Appalachian Trail will close from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 2, from the junction with Sweat Heifer Trail to the crossing at Road Prong trail. Hikers are being advised to reschedule their trips or wait at the nearest intersection for the trail to reopen.

More information about the event is to be released soon, a spokesman told the paper.