Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The deadline to avert a government shutdown is looming over U.S. lawmakers. They have until Oct. 1 to pass some type of funding legislation or else all federal agencies would need to stop non-essential work and federal workers would not get a paycheck.
The impacted agencies would include the National Park Service, and so operations would halt at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park would have to close during one of the busiest months of the year. In October 2022, the national park saw around 1.6 million visitors — the busiest month of the year.
The Great Smoky Mountains managed to stay partially open in 2019, during a government shutdown in January of that year. Main roads and trails were accessible at the park, but facilities like bathrooms were closed, and so were other services at the park. Trash was also not collected, and only essential personnel stayed working there.
In October 2013, the U.S. government also shut down. During that month, the national park saw under 848,000 visitors — a 30% decrease compared to the normal number of visitors. The loss in visitors also meant spending in areas around the national park went down by around $25.6 million. Only The Spur, the Gatlinburg Bypass and Highway 441 stayed open.
Weddings were canceled in October 2013, and hundreds of park employees were furloughed.
Neither the Great Smoky Mountains National Park nor the National Park Service could provide information about what could happen if the U.S. government shuts down on Oct. 1 this year.
Gov. Bill Lee's office said he is monitoring any potential impacts on the state level.
"Gov. Lee remains hopeful that the federal government will resolve this situation soon," Lee said.