The feeding, touching, teasing, or molesting of bears is prohibited. This regulation is enforced strictly for the protection of the public. Persons using park trails have nothing to fear from unmolested bears. If tempted by food, however, some bears, which frequent sections of the motor road, become dangerous. They should not be fed or approached. Persons using the Appalachian Trail shelters can protect their food supplies by suspending them from tree limbs outside the shelter.
Fishing
Approximately 600 miles of streams, many of them well suited to trout, flow down the slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains. Each year thousands of hatchery-reared trout are released in the more heavily fished waters. Rainbow and brook trout and small-mouth bass lure the devotees of Izaak Walton. Persons fishing in park waters must have the State or county license issued and required by North Carolina, or the State license issued and required by Tennessee, depending upon the section of the park being fished. Catches are regulated, and some streams may be found closed for restocking. The fishing season is from May 16 to August 31. Current regulations may be obtained from the office of the superintendent or from park rangers or wardens.
Interpretive Service
Beginning in May and continuing for 6 months, a program of naturalist-guided field trips and talks is available. This service is maintained by the Government and is free to the public.
Naturalists meet hikers at designated points in or near the park and conduct visits to outstanding objectives over good trails. Plant and animal life is discussed informally along the way. There are several types of walks ranging from 2 hours to all day. Illustrated talks are given in the evenings at regular intervals, chiefly in hotel lobbies and other points of visitor-concentration.
Programs describing the nature-guide service are available (May-October) at headquarters and at Oconaluftee Ranger Station and are posted in hotels and various places throughout the park.
Accommodations
Free modern campgrounds are provided on the Tennessee side of the park at the Chimney Tops, 6 miles south of Gatlinburg, and Cades Cove, 7 miles from the Townsend entrance to the park; on the North Carolina side at Smokemont, on the transmountain highway, Balsam Mountain, 10 miles from Soco Gap on U. S. 19 (Blue Ridge Parkway spur), and Deep Creek, 2 miles from Bryson City. Aside from these campgrounds, the only accommodations in the park are at Le Conte Lodge on the top of Mount Le Conte, accessible only by foot or horseback. For reservations and rates, write Jack Huff, Gatlinburg, Tenn.
A number of hotel and tourist courts are available in cities and towns near the park, and at Knoxville and Asheville. Inquiries regarding these accommodations should be addressed to Knoxville Tourist Bureau, Henley Street, Knoxville, Tenn.; East Tennessee Automobile Club, Knoxville, Tenn., Chambers of Commerce of Gatlinburg, Knoxville, and Maryville, Tenn., Asheville, Waynesville, Bryson City, and Sylva, N. C.; Cherokee Association, Cherokee, N. C.; and Government Services, Inc., Fontana Village, Fontana Dam, N. C.