UPDATE (Nov. 21, 2017): The Clingmans Dome Observation Tower has reopened temporarily for the winter after it was closed for rehabilitation work starting Wednesday, Aug. 23.
On Tuesday, Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the tower would be open to the public for the winter during a cold weather work stoppage. When the work resumes in spring, the park said the tower will likely be closed for another two weeks before the work is totally finished.
Visitors can enjoy views from the tower all through the winter into spring, however, Clingmans Dome Road will be inaccessible to motorists from Dec. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. People can still hike up to the dome area all through winter.
The park said it made quick progress on repairing the aged structure and completed most of the rehab work this fall. Officials said the big repairs to the structure are out of the way and the only thing left is to complete the final surface overlay.
The park announced the closure in August, saying crews will be doing rehabilitation work on the tower thanks to funding received from a Partners in Preservation grant.
The $250,000 grant was awarded to Friends of the Smokies last summer. The grant was given on behalf of the park after being one of the top nine most voted for parks in the Partners in Preservation: National Parks Campaign in 2016.
The tower, which straddles the North Carolina and Tennessee state line, is a landmark and destination as the highest point in the park.
Crews repaired the worst deteriorated areas on the concrete columns and walls, stabilized support walls at the base of the ramp and repointed some stone masonry.
Once rehabilitation resumes in spring, the park said it will need to close the dome for a little longer. The visitor contact station and store, the trail to the tower and all access to the trailheads in the vicinity will remain open. Visitors should expect some construction traffic in the vicinity of the contact station and along the trail.