Parks / Great Smoky Mountains / Townsend Entrance

Great Smoky Mountains · Townsend, TN (TN-73)

Great Smoky Mountains Townsend Entrance: this week

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

The Townsend entrance on TN-73 is the 'quiet side' gateway to Little River Road, Laurel Creek Road and Cades Cove.

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

When signal drops, GOES steps in.

Cades Cove bears, cold rain and slick river rock. Download GOES in Townsend so its offline wildlife and cold-weather guidance travels with you.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Official conditions

This week at the Townsend Entrance

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

OpenLittle River Road and Laurel Creek Road: primary roads, open 24/7 year-round, weather permitting. NPS API
OpenCades Cove Loop Road: open sunrise to sunset daily, weather permitting. NPS
ClosedRich Mountain Road and Parson Branch Road (out of Cades Cove) are closed for the season. Forge Creek Road is open through Dec 31, subject to closures for snow, ice or mud. NPS alert NPS
Heads-upNWS Winter Weather Advisory for the area, issued Nov 11, until 7 am EST Nov 14. NWS
InfoParking tags are sold at The Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend, Cades Cove Visitor Center and the Tremont Institute store. Cades Cove Campground is open year-round. 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 Townsend Entrance

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	45°F	Rain Showers Likely	10 to 15 mph
Thursday	53°F	Chance Rain Showers	10 to 15 mph
Thursday Night	33°F	Chance Rain Showers	5 to 10 mph
Friday	44°F	Rain And Snow Showers Likely	5 mph
Friday Night	30°F	Chance Rain And Snow Showers	0 to 5 mph
Saturday	45°F	Chance Snow Showers then Mostly Sunny	0 to 5 mph
Saturday Night	26°F	Mostly Clear	0 to 5 mph
Sunday	52°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.

Bear jams in Cades Cove

Cades Cove is one of the park's best places to see bears, and one of the easiest places to get too close. Approaching within 50 yards is illegal. Use pull-offs and don't stop in the road. NPS news NPS

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

Cold rain into freezing nights

NWS forecast for Townsend: rain showers Thursday around 53°F, rain and snow showers likely Friday, and a low near 30°F Friday night. NWS

In GOESEnvironmental Health: hypothermia and frostbite assessments

Little River's slick rocks

Wet rocks and cold water make the Little River a fall and hypothermia risk. NPS links to USGS gauges for current flow. NPS

In GOESOffline interactive health assessment + 50+ visual how-to guides

Before you go in

Checklist for the Townsend Entrance

Parking tag before Cades CoveRequired for stops over 15 minutes.
Time Cades Cove for daylightThe loop is open sunrise to sunset.
Download GOES in TownsendBefore you head up Little River Road.

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.

Cades Cove bears, cold rain and slick river rock. Download GOES in Townsend so its offline wildlife and cold-weather guidance travels with you.

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.