Les Jones

East Tennessee > Park to Re-open Parsons Branch Road in Smokies

Dean Stone at The Daily Times writes that Parsons Branch road in Cades Cove will be repaired and will re-open late this year.

The park service considers Parsons Branch a primitive road, so it receives minimal maintenance. (I've seen it described as "unmaintained", but that's not completely accurate, as this latest news demonstrates.) Parsons Branch has been closed more than it's been open the last dozen years due to floods, and I probably haven't driven it in fifteen. Back then it was passable by Eddie McGaha's Camaro, but parts of it were more creekbed than road.

Another one-way primitive road out of Cades Cove - Rich Mountain Road - is the Autobahn by comparison, what with its thick bed of gravel. The park closes both of these roads along with select paved roads in the Smokies every winter.