Grandfather Rangers Hustle To Reopen Trails In Grandfather Mountain State Park

Two feet of snow in mid-December and a destructive ice storm on Christmas Eve left Grandfather's backcountry trails impassable in January. On January 6th officials from the North Carolina State Parks announced that the trails would be closed until further notice. Now State Park rangers and Grandfather Mountain trail rangers are hustling to clear the hundreds of fallen trees and make the trails safe for hikers once again. Read more.

Audubon's Great Backyard Bird Count Comes to Grandfather Mountain February 13

Held each February, the Great Backyard Bird Count is the Audubon Society's way of getting a snapshot of where birds are spending the winter by encouraging more citizens to get involved in birding. Grandfather's Naturalists are inviting the public to join them at the Nature Museum on February 13 to help count the birds on Grandfather's feeders -- and to learn how easy it is to include a count from your own backyard in this North American census. Read more about it.

Top Shop Update

Snow has continued to limit access to the top of Grandfather during January, complicating but not halting work on the new visitor center. There was a time when this building was expected to be open to the public by Memorial Day 2009. Now we'll be happy to be in by Memorial Day 2010. Read more about it.