View Full Version : Parking at Big Creek ranger station
I have a shuttle coming up that involves meeting a hiker who wants to park at Big Creek ranger station (north side of GSMNP) We're meeting at 10:00 PM so it'll be dark and deserted I'm guessing.
Any tips on where to park and how to let the rangers know the vehicle will be there for a few weeks?
I can give them a call - just wondering if anyone here had any tips.
MuddyWaters
03-24-2014, 21:36
Park in the small lot next to the station where other vehicles will be parked.
Not sure when they begin staffing it, wouldnt surprise me if it is only memorial day-labor day. I parked there before in mid Sept when it is unstaffed and had no issues. Probably a moot point if the shuttle is real soon.
If they are there, doesnt hurt to tell them, but honestly there are always a bunch of vehicles there, and they know they belong to hikers, I mean, who else would leave a vehicle there?
HooKooDooKu
03-24-2014, 23:43
Since you say you will leave the car parked "for a few weeks", I assume you're not talking about hiking only in GSMNP during that time. If you were, you're supposed to list your vehicle on your hiking permit and therefore the rangers would already know about it. But if you're NOT going to be in GSMNP during the full time, I would contact the Back Country office at (865) 436-1297 and let them know.
curtisvowen
03-25-2014, 06:32
10-K Muddy Water and HooKooDooKu are correct.
It's the first parking lot on the right about 100 yards in from 4-way entrance to the Park.
Your client isn't doing the Park correct? No advice on that other then ask the BC folks about this.
FYI. There hasn't been a "Ranger" housed there in 15 years. Just a name. The garage attached to the building is housing for the campground maintenance equipment. The housing is used for seasonal volunteers.
illabelle
03-25-2014, 09:14
We've parked there twice for short trips (4-5 days) and had no problems at all. One was in May, the other in March. There have always been several cars there when we've been to this area. It was recommended to us as a safer alternative than the gravel road where the AT exits the GSMNP.
I've had a vehicle broken into, but that's been several years ago and they caught the couple involved (who were tied to a long string of incidents in the area). All the other trips down there were incident free.
magic_game03
03-25-2014, 09:31
… FYI. There hasn't been a "Ranger" housed there in 15 years. Just a name. The garage attached to the building is housing for the campground maintenance equipment. The housing is used for seasonal volunteers.
It still looks pretty authentic as a ranger station and has a secure feel to it. I'd park there for a week or so without worry.
P.S. If you ever get a chance, go check out Midnight hole and have a swim. It's cold but very refreshing with some nice geology. Google images has some good pictures of it.
flemdawg1
03-25-2014, 09:33
If you can't get in touch with the backcountry office via phone you could write a note and slip it into the BC permit box.
magic_game03
03-25-2014, 10:06
If you can't get in touch with the backcountry office via phone you could write a note and slip it into the BC permit box.
I don't believe that slipping a note into the BC permit boxes will be of any use due to the fact that GSMNP doesn't use self-issuing permits any more. Since all permits are now done online there is no need for anybody to collect the permit copies that would normally be torn off of the self-issuing permits and inserted into these boxes. I could be wrong, maybe they still check them for kicks.
i would tend to say that they have removed the permit boxes....
i know that they have removed the one at sugarlands, so im guessing that they have removed them at other places.....
MuddyWaters
03-26-2014, 21:07
I dont think they ever collected and did anything with permits on a regular basis anyway. I mean, when we returned to Fontana after hiking across the Smokies, our permit was still visible in the box we stuffed it into, along with all the other visibly old ones there. Maybe if someone went missing they might have gatherred them and started investigating.
I dont think they ever collected and did anything with permits on a regular basis anyway. I mean, when we returned to Fontana after hiking across the Smokies, our permit was still visible in the box we stuffed it into, along with all the other visibly old ones there. Maybe if someone went missing they might have gatherred them and started investigating.
they actually did.......
but, collection was not done on a timely basis....
they would collect the permits, and then one lady would sit and sift through them and add them to a data base......
she's built databases on the amount of usage, etc, etc for the last few years............
but, she was dependent upon rangers collecting them and turning them over to her (or really, the backcountry office)........
i know in years past, it has taken her a few months to do the data base, as some ranger stations would turn in the permits to the BC office in a cardboard box and the permits would be months old.......
so, yeah, they weren't collected in a timely fashion, but they were collected and used for data purposes.....