Did you know that McGhee Tyson Airport is just one hour away from the most visited national park in the US? More than 12 million people visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year, generating a more than $1 billion economic impact for our region. In this episode, we speak with Caitlin Worth of the National Park Service as she shares the parks’ history, secrets, and future developments.

Caitlin Worth is the acting management assistant and public affairs specialist at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)
  
• National Park Service (NPS)
  
• 130 species of trees in the Smokies
  
• Sugarlands Visitor Center
  
• Careers with the NPS: start with a volunteership or intership
  
• The TomCast with Tom Stanley
  
• Tips for a successful trip to the Smokies:
  
  • Plan ahead!
    
    • Visit the park’s website for active closures and alerts
      
    
    
  • Treat wildlife with respect!
    
  • Expect there to be traffic!
    
  
  
• Annually, the GSNMP generates an economic impact of more than $1 billion and contributes to more than 14,000 jobs in our region
  
• There is 73 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the GSMNP– hikers call it their ‘favorite section’ of the AT
  

• Birdy by KV https://soundcloud.com/kvmusicprod
  
• Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
  
• Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/dSCbsObNJo0
  

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