Several local governments and agencies in Tennessee and North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have been working together with the National Park Service to keep all of Great Smoky Mountains National Park open during the federal government’s partial shutdown, a press release from Sevier County said.
On Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee posted on the social media platform X that the park would be open through the shutdown.
“We are grateful for the partnership of local leadership & the Trump Administration to ensure this national treasure remains open to the public,” the post said.
The park remains mostly open to visitors while some roads, visitor centers and picnic areas were closed, according to a notice posted on the park’s website on Wednesday, the first day of the shutdown.
The agreement with the national park, which the coalition has been working on for over a week, would provide financial support to reopen areas of the park that were closed, said the county press release, issued Wednesday.