(WFXR) – Anyone visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are urged to plan ahead and take extra precautions. This comes as there’s been a surge in emergency incidents and ongoing concerns about hiking safety in the nation’s most-visited national park.
Rangers responded to 38 emergency calls in March, including 18 backcountry search and rescue operations, according to the National Park Service. Several of those incidents required complex rescues, including helicopter evacuations and technical rope operations in remote, hard-to-access areas. In March, park rangers responded to the following calls:
- Five backcountry 911 calls resolved through phone contact, preventing the need for full rescue responses.
- 18 backcountry search and rescue incidents, including two Tennessee Army National Guard hoist extractions and four technical rope rescues.
- 15 front‑country EMS calls, with four patients transported by UT Medical Center Life Flight.
Officials with the National Park say the increase shows how quickly conditions in the park can become dangerous. Steep terrain, slick trails, stream crossings and rapidly changing weather are among the most common hazards. Limited cell phone service in many areas can also delay emergency response and make it difficult for visitors to call for help.
The park spans more than 500,000 acres across Tennessee and North Carolina and draws more than 12 million visitors annually, according to the National park Service (NPS). With more than 800 miles of maintained trails, the smoky mountains offer a wide range of hiking experiences, from short paved paths to rugged backcountry routes that require advanced planning and navigation skills…