Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smokies, state parks, forest close facilities in light of coronavirus

Asheville Citizen Times

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ASHEVILLE – Last week when Kay Shurtleff, a Carolina Mountain Club hike leader, led a group of students on a hike in Transylvania County with the Youth Partner Challenge, she took early precautions in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Usually the group invites families and young children to carpool to trailheads for hikes with the Saluda Community Land Trust.

“We asked everyone to go with their own families in their own cars, no carpooling,” Shurtleff said.

That goes along with the CDC’s recommendations on social-distancing – keeping at least 6 feet from other individuals – whether indoors or outside.

Angela Shepherd and Tanya Cummings of the hiking group Pathways to Parks make their way up Waterrock Knob Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway in November.

After being cooped up with our families who are working or studying from home to prevent the spread of coronavirus, aka COVID-19, we’re probably all thinking the same thing – let’s get outdoors!

But according to experts, outdoors might not be much safer as far as this fast-moving virus is concerned. Maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others, no matter indoors or outdoors, is the recommended practice during this pandemic.

Parkway, Smokies, national parks

On March 17, the Blue Ridge Parkway closed its year-round Visitor Center in Asheville, at Milepost 384 near the U.S. 74A entrance, out of safety concerns for staff, volunteers and visitors.

"Other year-round facilities on the parkway managed by local partners will remain open at this time," according to a statement from the National Park Service. "These sites include the Folk Art Center at Milepost 382 and the Museum of NC Minerals at Milepost 331."

The parkway motor road and all accessible trails will also remain open where not otherwise closed due to weather. Decisions regarding planned seasonal, spring openings, such as park campgrounds and visitor centers, will be made at a later date.

Cars are parked near a trailhead along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville March 16, 2020.

Similarly, Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced March 17 that Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, and Cades Cove visitor centers are closed until further notice for public safety.

Seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails and restroom facilities located adjacent to visitor centers remain open and accessible to the public.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site temporarily closed the Sandburg Home and Barn on March 17. This includes Sandburg Home tours, the park store, access to the goats and farm animals, all special events, all volunteer shifts, and in-park and off-site programs. Park grounds, except for the barn area, trails, and restrooms will remain open.

But people can still enjoy "fresh air" at a respectable social distance (at least 6 feet) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The recent warm weather has allowed much of the roadway in Western North Carolina to be opened, except for a section between Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell State Park.

Parkway spokeswoman Leesa Brandon said most of the parkway facilities, campgrounds, picnic areas and some visitor centers, are still closed for the season, so no coronavirus precautions have been taken in those places.

While the Blue Ridge Parkway closed its flagship Visitor Center in Asheville March 17 due to coronavirus safety precautions, it is keeping the Folk Art Center, at Milepost 382, open.

“We’re maintaining continuity of operation in those year-round facilities, but working with all NPS colleagues across the region and nationally to monitor situation and make smart decisions,” Brandon said.

She said people should heed CDC guidelines, as well as safety guideline for hiking and driving, including planning ahead, being prepared with extra food, clothing and a cell phone, and while driving, watching the road and not the views and maintain the speed limit.

The U.S. Forest Service in Asheville, which oversees four national forests, including the Pisgah and Nantahala, on March 17 announced that all Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan Revision open houses planned for March have been canceled.

So far, all facilities, that are not closed seasonally, as well as trails and visitor attractions in the forest are open.

"At the USDA Forest Service, the health and well-being of our employees and the people we serve are our top priority. We remain committed to public involvement in forest management. Information and presentations from the cancelled open houses will be provided through our website and social media," said spokeswoman Cathy Dowd.

NC state parks, forest closures

At about 8:30 p.m. March 16, North Carolina State Parks, which oversees 41 sites from the Western North Carolina mountains to the coast, decided to close down all state park visitor centers and campgrounds, said spokeswoman Katie Hall.

These include the parks in WNC – Chimney Rock in Rutherford County, Gorges in Transylvania County, Grandfather Mountain in Avery and Watauga, Lake James in Burke and McDowell, and Mount Mitchell in Yancey County.

Trails and restrooms will remain open and limited staff will be on site, Hall said.

All state parks were told March 13 to cancel any events where 100 or more people would gather. They were not required to cancel smaller events, such as birding or wildflower guided hikes, but Grandfather Mountain and Mount Mitchell had already canceled all their public programming.

In addition, the private, ticketed attraction part of Chimney Rock, which includes the elevator to the chimney, eateries, Hickory Nut Falls and the hiking trails, is closed March 16-20. The Old Rock Cafe at the park entrance is also closed.

“We will be reviewing our sanitation practices again and looking at what operational changes we can make that will keep guests and associates at the recommended distance from one another when they are visiting the park,” according to an online post.

Even though most of the Chimney Rock experience is generally outside, retail and food outlets, the elevator, shuttle buses and restrooms can get very congested, the post stated. As of March 16, the Easter Sunrise Service had not been canceled.

The private, ticketed portion of Grandfather Mountain, which includes the swinging bridge and animal habitats, and is run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is closed for two weeks as of March 15.

“We could be told to close the parks at any time, just like movie theaters, bars or restaurants could be told to close,” Hall said. “People should be prepared. I know people would be super disappointed because right now they feel like it’s the only place they can go to get out of the house.”

Worshipers watch the sunrise over Lake Lure from Chimney Rock Park's Easter sunrise service on April 21, 2019.

DuPont State Recreational Forest canceled all public programming and events until April 15.

"While we continue to do critical work for the people of our state, your safety and well-being are of utmost importance to us. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to adjust to this ever-evolving situation, and we apologize for any inconvenience," recreation specialist Mary Smith said in an email.

DuPont's public buildings, including the Aleen Steinberg Visitor Center and public bathroom facilities, are temporarily closed in an effort to encourage social distancing during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

While the forest trails remain open to the public, visitors are urged to maintain social distancing and adjust recreational activities to minimize the need for assistance.

Buncombe County closed all its parks as of March 17. Asheville city’s recreation centers were closed to the public, as well as the WNC Nature Center.

All programming in Buncombe County parks has been postponed until further notice, said Chris Bubenik with Recreation Services.

“Anyone who has been directed to quarantine, isolate, or self-monitor and residents over 65 years old or with an impaired or compromised immune response should avoid visiting our facilities,” Bubenik said.

Buncombe County Schools Aquatics Center is closed until further notice since it adheres to the same emergency closure procedures as the Buncombe County Schools system.

More preparedness information and news on COVID-19 can be found at www.buncombecounty.org/bcready.

Getting sunshine and fresh air?

The N.C. Arboretum's hiking, walking and biking trails are still open to the public, but the Orchid Show, Mountain Science Expo and other events have been canceled. The Bistro and gift shop are closed.

"We have over 400 acres of beautiful open-air woodlands as part of our campus, so we hope folks will continue to come visit us. Physical activity, such as walking, hiking or biking, can help minimize stress and anxiety, as well as boost immunity," spokeswoman Whitney Smith said.

Getting outdoors is known to be a mood-booster. But is going further afoot from the city, to the Arboretum, or hopping on a Blue Ridge Parkway hiking trail or mountain biking in Bent Creek Experimental Forest still OK? The outdoors are good for us, right?

Just like with seemingly everything else, the coronavirus is a gotcha.

“Don’t assume because you’re outdoors there’s not going to be any transferability of the virus,” Hall said.

“Follow social distancing guidelines no matter where you are – whether on a trail, in a picnic area, visitor area, or restroom, you should be trying to stay at least 6 feet away from other people and following the same guidelines that you would follow indoors," she said.

These include practices like coughing or sneezing into tissue and throwing it away, or if you don’t have a tissue, coughing or sneezing into a sleeve or elbow, and washing and sanitizing hands as frequently as possible.

People wade into the water and swim at Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah National Forest July 3, 2019.

Some outdoor organizations, including the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society, have canceled events, like the bird walk March 21. But the birding group will hold a webinar, rather than in-person meeting, at 7 p.m. March 17 about the Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan, "because the topic is so important," said the club's Tom Tribble. The main speaker will be Curtis Smalling, Audubon North Carolina's Director of Conservation.

The Carolina Mountain Club, which hosts hundreds of guided hikes every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, is discouraging carpooling to trailheads and is advocating at least a 6-foot distance between hikers, said the club's Jan Onan.

On the evening of March 17, the club canceled all guided hikes until further notice.

"I feel that this is the socially responsible course of action to take in order to do our part in helping to mitigate the effects of this virus," Onan said.

“Just because you’re outdoors in the open air, doesn’t mean there’s no way you can catch something,” Hall said. “It works the same way when viruses are aerosolized, it works the same way as it does indoors.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person, between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

The CDC guidelines include limiting contact with others through handshaking and hugging. There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus. The CDC says the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Sunshine, wind, and cold won’t kill the virus.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which oversees the 2,190-mile long Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, has issued a set of COVID-19 guidelines for thru-hikers, who are now starting their six-month trek north on the trail that passes through the Great Smokies and WNC.

Some guidelines include:

Wash your hands frequently with biodegradable soap at least 200 feet from water sources. When soap is not available, use hand sanitizer that contains 60-95% alcohol.
Avoid sharing food. Do not eat out of the same food bag, share utensils or drink from other hikers’ water bottles.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. Use the crook of your arm (inner elbow) or use a tissue and dispose of it using Leave No Trace Principles.
Keep some distance between you and other hikers whenever possible, especially if anyone shows signs of being sick. Avoid shaking hands or other close contact — instead, elbow bumps or waving are safer ways to greet others.
Avoid congregating in groups along the Trail.
Hike and camp away from others to minimize the likelihood of infection.

Many outdoor retailers and events are being canceled across the region daily. On March 16, the Nantahala Outdoor Center, the largest outdoor outfitter in WNC, closed operations, according to president William Irving.

Karen Chávez is an award-winning outdoors and environment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and USA TODAY Network. She is the author of "Best Hikes with Dogs: North Carolina," and is a former National Park Service ranger.

Reach me: KChavez@CitizenTimes.com or on Twitter @KarenChavezACT

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