LeConte Lodge will soon celebrate its hundredth year of hosting overnight guests on Mount Le Conte, but the lodge’s actual birthdate (and the spelling of its name) is subject to debate. The centennial celebration could span three summers, depending on who’s counting. July 16, 1925, marked the arrival of the first overnight guests, a group of people from the Illinois Audubon Society who fixed their
For many people who grew up in the eastern United States, the soft yellow blink of fireflies drifting over dusky fields and lawns is synonymous with summer, a nostalgic symbol of warmth and childhood. But few would guess that the common eastern firefly (Photinus pyralis) is one of more than two thousand firefly species worldwide. Of those species, 19 are known to make their home
The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located on U.S. 321 in Townsend, TN, 2 miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors can get information about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts, and other Smokies merchandise. Daily, weekly, and annual parking tags for the national park are also available.
