Parks / Great Smoky Mountains / Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands)

Great Smoky Mountains · Gatlinburg, TN (US-441)

Great Smoky Mountains Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands): this week

Open — Winter Weather Advisory Week of Nov 9–15, 2026

The Gatlinburg entrance on US-441 leads to Sugarlands Visitor Center and then up Newfound Gap Road over the crest to North Carolina. It's one of the park's three main entrances.

This week's conditions Risks here now Get GOES before you lose signal

When signal drops, GOES steps in.

Roadside bears, a winter weather advisory and icy curves up to Newfound Gap. Download GOES in Gatlinburg so its offline hypothermia and wildlife guidance is ready.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Official conditions

This week at the Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands)

From NPS pages and alerts fetched Nov 12, 2026. Each line links to its source.

Heads-upNewfound Gap Road (US-441) is a primary road, open 24/7 year-round, weather permitting. NWS forecasts snow showers at Newfound Gap Friday, and snow and ice can close the road. NPS API NPS NWS
Heads-upNWS Winter Weather Advisory for the area, issued Nov 11, until 7 am EST Nov 14. NWS
OpenRoaring Fork Motor Nature Trail: open through Nov 29 (one-way and steep; no RVs, buses or vans over 25 ft, and no trailers). Kuwohi Road (formerly Clingmans Dome Road): open through Nov 29, subject to closures for snow and ice. NPS
ClosedLaurel Falls Trail is closed for rehabilitation (closed since Jan 2025 for about 18 months). Bullhead Trail is closed Monday–Thursday through Nov 19. NPS
ClosedPark Headquarters Road is closed for Sugarlands water and wastewater work. NPS alert
InfoParking tags are sold at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center and Sugarlands Visitor Center, and online. Visitor centers are open year-round except Christmas Day. NPS fees NPS

Entrance fee: No entrance fee. A parking tag is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes: daily $5, weekly $15, annual $40. America the Beautiful passes are not accepted in place of a tag. NPS alert NPS fees

Weather

Forecast near the Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands)

Snapshot from the National Weather Service, fetched Nov 12, 2026. Live forecast loads below if you're online.Full NWS forecast

Winter Weather Advisory — Winter Weather Advisory issued November 11 at 11:09PM EST until November 14 at 7:00AM EST by NWS Morristown TN

Period	Temp	Forecast	Wind
Overnight	47°F	Rain Showers Likely	10 to 15 mph
Thursday	53°F	Chance Rain Showers	10 to 15 mph
Thursday Night	36°F	Rain Showers Likely	10 to 15 mph
Friday	43°F	Rain And Snow Showers Likely	5 to 10 mph
Friday Night	32°F	Chance Snow Showers	5 mph
Saturday	44°F	Slight Chance Snow Showers then Mostly Sunny	5 mph
Saturday Night	27°F	Mostly Clear	0 to 5 mph
Sunday	51°F	Sunny	0 to 5 mph

Know the risks

What actually matters here in mid-November

The goal is a good trip, not a scary one. These are the hazards NPS highlights for this area and season, and what to do about each.

Icy curves on US-441

The NWS forecast at Newfound Gap has snow showers Friday (high near 32°F, low near 24°F Friday night). The climb from Sugarlands can go from wet to icy quickly, so check road status before crossing the crest. NWS

In GOESEnvironmental Health: hypothermia and frostbite assessments

Roadside bears

Fall is peak feeding time. Use pull-offs, get fully off the road, and stay 50 yards away. Never feed bears, and put trash in bear-proof containers. NPS news NPS

In GOESWildlife Encounters: location-specific risk indicators for bears and other dangerous animals

Hypothermia on a 'mild' day

This week in Gatlinburg: rain showers and about 53°F Thursday, then rain and snow showers Friday. Wet cotton plus wind is how hypothermia happens in mild weather. NWS

In GOESEnvironmental Health: hypothermia and frostbite assessments

Before you go in

Checklist for the Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands)

Buy a parking tag firstRequired for any stop over 15 minutes; most trailheads have no tag machine.
Check US-441 before crossing into NCSnow showers are forecast at the crest this week.
Rain shell and warm, non-cotton layersSummit temps run 10–20°F colder than town.
Download GOES in GatlinburgBefore the signal drops on the climb.

Follow official NPS rules, posted closures and ranger instructions. They override anything on this page.

Park-wide

Great Smoky Mountains risks everywhere in the park

Black bears

Over the last 10 years the Smokies averaged 339 reported negative human–bear encounters a year. In fall, bears feed heavily (up to 20,000 calories a day) and show up near roadsides. Approaching within 50 yards (150 ft) is illegal. If a black bear attacks and isn't after your food, fight back; don't play dead. NPS NPS news

In GOESWildlife Encounters: location-specific risk indicators for bears and other dangerous animals

Elk

It's illegal to approach elk within 25 yards (75 ft). During the fall rut, bulls can be aggressive toward people, vehicles and pets. NPS closed the fields around Oconaluftee and Cataloochee to visitors during the rut, so obey any posted closures. NPS news NPS news

In GOESWildlife Encounters: location-specific risk indicators for dangerous animals

Wet cold and fast-changing mountain weather

Temperatures can vary 10–20°F between base and summit, and clear skies lower down don't guarantee the same up high. Rain, then snow, then near-freezing nights is a textbook setup for hypothermia. NPS API NWS

In GOESEnvironmental Health: hypothermia and frostbite assessments

GPS and no signal

NPS warns that GPS units may send drivers the wrong way on one-way roads or to dead ends, and points mobile users to offline maps for areas without cell service. NPS

In GOES125+ extreme weather alerts

NPS alerts

All active Great Smoky Mountains alerts

Pulled from the NPS Data API on Nov 12, 2026; the same alerts appear on nps.gov/grsm.

Park ClosureSeasonal road closures. Heintooga Ridge Road, Parson Branch Road, and Rich Mountain Road are closed for the season. More
Park ClosurePark Headquarters Road is closed. Park Headquarters Road is closed due to rehabilitation work on the Sugarlands water and wastewater systems.
Park ClosureStraight Fork and the one-way section of Balsam Mountain Road closed.. Straight Fork and the one-way section of Balsam Mountain Road (Heintooga Round-Bottom Road) are closed. More
InformationMost visitors need a parking tag. All vehicles parking for longer than 15 minutes require a parking tag. Three tag durations are available for purchase for all vehicle sizes and types: Daily ($5), Weekly ($15), or Annual ($40). More

Your outdoor safety companion

When signal drops, GOES steps in.

Roadside bears, a winter weather advisory and icy curves up to Newfound Gap. Download GOES in Gatlinburg so its offline hypothermia and wildlife guidance is ready.

Works with no cell service: interactive health assessment and 50+ visual how-to guides, available offline.
Location-specific risks: wildlife (bears, venomous snakes), hypothermia, frostbite, heat illness, altitude, ticks, poisonous plants, UV and smoke/air quality.
200+ prevention tips across 60+ medical topics, also available offline.
Built by wilderness medicine physicians: founded by Dr. Grant Lipman, former Stanford Emergency Medicine professor and director of its wilderness medicine fellowship; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Colin Little, MD, FAWM.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Free to download. Premium features need a monthly or annual subscription after a 7-day free trial. GOES provides guidance. It is not a substitute for professional medical care. Follow official NPS rules and ranger instructions.

Other Great Smoky Mountains entrances

Gatlinburg Entrance (Sugarlands)Open — Winter Weather Advisory
Townsend EntranceOpen — Winter Weather Advisory
Cherokee Entrance (Oconaluftee)Open — elk area

Great Smoky Mountains overview, closures and park-wide risks →

Sources

Where this week's information comes from

Fetched Thu Nov 12, 2026 (JST), which is Wed Nov 11 evening in US time zones. We don't publish wait times, bear sightings or conditions we can't source. Check the official pages before you go — they're updated more often than we are.