Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park

[DeanChriss]

Does anyone happen to know what conditions (wildflowers, trees, etc) may be like in another week? I'm nearly always there in mid-April and I know what it's usually like, but this year might be the latest spring I can recall. I'm just interested in the valleys, not the high country. Are the forests getting that green spring "haze" from all the buds? Are things greening up a little yet, or is it still that drab after winter/before spring brown?  Sites I usually look at for wildflower info don't have a single update from 2013 yet! Any info at all is greatly appreciated.

[Praki]

Drove through Knoxville two days ago. We were going to visit the Smokies on a hurried trip but decided against it as the trees were bare and there was no sign of budding on any except the Magnolias. So my guess is that it will be a late spring (we were driving from DC to Texas and the Cherry blossoms in DC are very late this year also; on April 3, there was not a single blossom on the Cherry trees in the Tidal Basin).

[degrub]

http://www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org/

[DeanChriss]

Hmmm. It looks like spring in the Smokies is nearly a month late this year. Thanks very much for the info!

[Ken Bennett]

I'm in Winston-Salem and we're not at the "green haze" stage yet. Still bare trees. Ugh.

[John Cothron]

I'm in north GA, kind of at the same elevation as Gatlinburg, Townsend, etc.  It's still pretty bare here though it's starting to catch on.  In my experience in the Smoky's...the end of April or very early May is a good time.  For the wildflowers you can see different species just by changing elevation.  Even then, places like Graveyard Fields up on the Blue Ridge will be basically bare.  Things are running late this year for sure.