Press release from Friends of the Smokies:
Warm up with a walk in the woods at Friends of the Smokies’ December Classic Hike on the Little River and Cucumber Gap Trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On Tuesday, December 12th the last Classic Hike of the 2017 season will feature seven miles of flat trails and the opportunity to do some holiday shopping at Sugarlands Visitor Center. Author and hiking expert Danny Bernstein will lead the group.
A stop at the historic Elkmont district will highlight four recently restored cabins in the Daisy Town area, including the Levi Trantham Cabin, Mayo Cabin and Servants’ Quarters and Creekmore Cabin. Elkmont served as a resort community in the early 1900s and included neighborhoods like Society Hill and Millionaires’ Row. The National Park Service is in the midst of a restoration project that will preserve 19 historic structures in the area.
“Elkmont’s history is so different from the rest of the park. After logging, the area was built up with private resort homes. The last person did not move out until June 30, 2001. Much of the hike is along Little River; it’s so peaceful and beautiful, no wonder families wanted to spend their summers there,” Bernstein says.
Meeting locations for the daylong excursion will be in Asheville, Waynesville, and at the trailhead. Visit Hike.FriendsoftheSmokies.org to register for any Classic Hike of the Smokies, sponsored by Mission Health.
Monthly guided day hikes in the Classic Hikes series are $20 for members. New and renewing members may join Friends of the Smokies and hike for $35. Donations benefit Friends of the Smokies’ Trails Forever program, which provides the opportunity for a highly skilled trail crew to focus reconstruction efforts on high use and high priority trails in the park. The 2018 Classic Hikes of the Smokies series will begin in March and routes will be announced after the new year.
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