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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Light snowfalls typically occur several times each winter in the park.
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Be A Junior Ranger
 
Explore the park and earn your Junior Ranger badge!

Kids—if you're between the ages of 5-12, you can become a Junior Ranger! Pick up a Junior Ranger booklet for $2.50 at any park visitor center or at the Cades Cove or Elkmont campground. Complete the activities in the booklet then stop by a visitor center to talk to a ranger and receive your Junior Ranger badge.

You can become a Junior Ranger at any time of year, but during spring, summer, and fall, ranger-led Junior Ranger programs are offered especially for children. Read through the schedule of ranger-led programs to find these special Junior Ranger programs.

 

 
Junior Ranger programs offer children a chance to explore the park and learn about the past.

Don McGowan Photo

Junior Ranger: Blacksmithing
Want to see what Junior Ranger programs are all about? Watch a video of the Junior Ranger Blacksmith program at the Mountain Farm Museum.
 


Online Opportunities to explore your National Parks.

Can't visit the park in person? Explore the Great Smoky Mountains and other national parks through the following online games and activities:

 

Take an electronic field-trip to the park! 
Search for life in the Great Smoky Mountains with downloadable acitivities, videos, and interactive games.

 

Become A WebRanger!
The National Park Service's online Junior Ranger program is for kids of all ages. With more than 50 online games, you can have fun learning about your national parks, monuments, and historic sites.

Become a World Heritage Junior Ranger!
What's a World Heritage Area? And what makes them so special? Discover the answers with fun, interactive games and activities.

Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001.
Elk
Elk were reintroduced to the park in 2001.
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Grotto Falls in Roaring Fork
Waterfalls
Waterfalls can be found on nearly every stream in the park.
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Black-chinned red salamander
Salamander Capital of the World!
At least thirty species of salamanders live in the park.
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House Wren
Dispatches from the Field
Go behind the scenes with scientists in the Great Smoky Mountains.
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Scientists estimate that 100,000 different species live in the park.

Did You Know?
What lives in Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Although the question sounds simple, it is actually extremely complex. Right now scientists think that we only know about 17 percent of the plants and animals that live in the park, or about 17,000 species of a probable 100,000 different organisms.

Last Updated: February 01, 2012 at 07:18 MST