New visitor center in Townsend provides starting point for Great Smoky Mountains visitors

Posted: Jan 9, 2024 / 02:42 PM EST

Updated: Jan 9, 2024 / 02:42 PM EST

The Great Smoky Mountains Association has opened a new visitor center called the Great Smokies Welcome Center.

Located in Townsend, at 7929 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, this new center is a starting point for visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The center provides information about the park and sells souvenirs, parking tags, and other park-related items.

Since 1992, the Great Smoky Mountains Association and Blount Partnership shared a visitor center, but it become too small for both organizations.

Therefore, they decided to open a new visitor center across the road. The Great Smokies Welcome Center is twice as big as the previous location. It has a separate area for membership information, merchandise, and educational displays they worked on with the National Park Service. Upstairs, there’s a space for private events.

Behind the scenes, the employees have access to a more significant break room, a big stock room, a space for wholesale operations, and a place to record audiobooks and podcasts.

“This new visitor center allows us to support Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a larger scale, with much more information and merchandise for park visitors to explore,” said CEO Laurel Rematore.

GSMA was founded to support the scientific, historical and interpretive activities of the Smokies by providing educational products and services to park visitors.