An early spring storm left snow on the higher elevations of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Only a couple of days later, the Newfound Gap Road had been plowed and the snow was quickly melting with temperatures in the upper 40s Fahrenheit. A surprising number of spring break visitors stopped at the gap on the North Carolina and Tennessee border. We drove through on our way to hike on the North Carolina side of the mountains in late March 2016.
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| Walker Camp Prong valley from Morton Overlook |
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| Thomas Ridge from Newfound Gap |
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| Snow on the Appalachian Trail at Newfound Gap |
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| Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap |
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| Newfound Gap Road descending into Beech Flats as seen from Newfound Gap |
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| Ranks of ridges in the Deep Creek basin |
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| Winter tries to hang on even after the spring equinox |
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| Hardwood trees beginning to bud below Rocky Fork Ridge |
Entry to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free.
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.
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