Visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park could face traffic delays and hiking interruptions in mid-September while materials from the demolished LeConte Lodge Recreation Building are removed via airlift.
Airlifts are expected to occur 9 a.m.-noon Sept. 14-18, though timing could be delayed or extended past those hours in case of bad weather, the National Park Service said in a news release. If necessary, makeup dates for the airlifts will be Sept. 19-25.
Drivers on Newfound Gap Road/US 441 near the Oconaluftee Overlook, south of Newfound Gap, should expect temporary traffic delays while a helicopter loads and unloads materials at LeConte Lodge.
LeConte Lodge will be closed to hikers during the flight windows due to safety regulations, according
to the release. Visitors will not be able to access the lodge's gift shop, restrooms, water spigots or food and beverage services at those times. The gift shop and other services will reopen once the airlift operation ends each day.
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During those closures, hikers will be able to access a composting privy at the Mount Le Conte Shelter, which remains closed due to bear activity. Water is available at the nearby spring on Trillium Gap Trail, though boiling/treating water is recommended.
Hikers on Mount Le Conte still will have access to trails and overlooks around the mountaintop during the airlift window. Flaggers will be stationed at three locations on trails near LeConte Lodge to advise and pause hikers during an active airlift.
The LeConte Lodge Recreation Building, which was built between the late 1960s and early 1970s, is being removed and will be replaced with a new recreation building later this year.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Airlifts in Great Smoky Mountains to cause delays for drivers, hikers
