• Approximately 1,500 black bears live in the national park.

    Great Smoky Mountains

    National Park NC,TN

Join Our Friends

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Wherever you go in the Smokies, you can see the results of the Friend's efforts, but there is still much more work to do.

 

 

 
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park assists the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness, and by providing volunteers for needed projects.

Your gift to Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park can help:
  • Preserve, restore and enhance the park's natural and cultural resources
  • Provide improved services and facilities for its visitors
  • Increase public awareness and support of the park
  • Enhance educational and interpretive activities
  • Improve trails and facilities.
  • Repair backcountry shelters and campsites
  • Preserve historic structure

Wherever you go in the national park, you can see the results of the Friend's efforts. The Friends have provided funds for many vital projects, including:

  • Reconstruction of the Mount Cammerer Fire Tower, preservation and restoration of historic log cabins, and rebuilding the mill wheel on Cable Mill in Cades Cove
  • Reconstruction of the popular Alum Cave and Boulevard Trails
  • Support for conservation work for elk, black bears, and brook trout
  • Purchase of a search and rescue vehicle to aid park visitors during emergencies
  • Raising more than $300,000 for emergency efforts to save the park’s hemlock trees from a deadly non-native insect.

But there is still much more work to do! Please help the Friends help the Smokies. Become a Friend Today!

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

Did You Know?

Marbled salamanders are one of 30 salamander species native to the park.

There are at least 30 different species of salamanders in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This gives the Smokies the distinction of having the most diverse salamander population anywhere in the world and has earned the park the nickname “Salamander Capital of the World.”