It can cost $35 per vehicle to visit many of our national parks, including some of the crown jewels like Grand Canyon, Zion and Yellowstone. Many of us shell out the money (or buy an annual pass) happily, knowing the funds help care for the places we love. Would it surprise you to learn that our most visited national park, Great Smoky Mountains, doesn’t charge an entrance fee? In an era where our national parks are struggling with a maintenance backlog and insufficient funding, this can seem crazy. Why is Great Smoky Mountains National Park free?
Simple.
It’s because of the park’s history.
Newfound Gap Road is one of the main roadways through the park. Before the park was established, the states of Tennesee and North Carolina built the road in order to connect the towns of Gatlinburg and Cherokee. When the states deeded the land to the federal government, Tennessee added the restriction that “no toll or license fee” would ever be implemented. State legislators were likely concerned that fees added to the park would limit interstate traffic along this thoroughfare.
The federal government rebuilt the road in the 1930s, with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps, but the original agreement stands. The only way to change it would be through an act of the Tennessee legislature, and that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.
Great Smoky Mountains was our first national park created entirely from private land. In a lengthy (and often painful) process, the land was purchased piece by piece to create the park. Though most locals now support the national park, you can still sense the resentment rippling under the surface in some of the families who were displaced. This is part of the story I tell in my next novel, releasing in the Spring of 2022.
I’ll be making more announcements about my Great Smoky Mountains National Park novel soon. Stay tuned!
Other ways to support the national park
Here are some ways you can support Great Smoky Mountains National Park outside of paying entrance fees:
- Make a donation to an organization like Friends of the Smokies or the Great Smoky Mountains Association.
- Shop at the bookstores in the park (run by GSMA).
- Volunteer and help restore trails or educate visitors.
- Support legislation that restores funding to our national parks and protects our public lands.
- Practice “leave no trace” principles when you visit.
