Bullhead Trail weekday closures

Bullhead Trail, one of the main routes to Mount Le Conte in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will close Monday through Thursday from May 4 through Nov. 19. (nps.gov) The National Park Service said the closure excludes federal holidays, and hikers can still use Bullhead Trail on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and those holiday dates. The park said it expects to reopen the trail fully in November. (nps.gov) Bullhead is a strenuous 13.6-mile round trip to the summit area of Mount Le Conte, and it is one of several routes that reach the mountain and LeConte Lodge. On closure days, hikers will need to use one of the other approaches instead. (nps.gov) The work is part of a multi-year rebuild that started in May 2025, when the park first began weekday closures on the trail through early November last year. The 2026 schedule resumes that same pattern during the peak hiking season. (nps.gov) Park crews said the project is aimed at trail safety and erosion control. The job list includes regrading about 3 miles of trail, improving drainage, repairing drystone walls, adding stone steps and turnpikes, and removing roots and rocks that create tripping hazards. (nps.gov) The park is also widening sections where the tread is sloughing off the hillside and pruning vegetation along the corridor. Crews are repairing upper sections of several trails near the top of Mount Le Conte at the same time. (nps.gov) Bullhead is the latest assignment in the Smokies’ Trails Forever program, a partnership with Friends of the Smokies that funds a permanent trail crew for high-use routes. The program says its goal is to build more sustainable trails, reduce erosion and improve safety for hikers and rescue teams. (nps.gov) Friends of the Smokies has contributed more than $4 million to past rehabilitation projects, according to the park, including work on Abrams Falls, Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, Alum Cave, Chimney Tops, Forney Ridge and Ramsey Cascades. Volunteer workdays on Bullhead are scheduled to start May 20 on Wednesdays. (nps.gov) Hikers checking conditions before a Mount Le Conte trip should watch the park’s closures page as well as the Bullhead schedule. Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s current alerts page lists other active trail issues, including storm damage and bear-related closures elsewhere in the park. (nps.gov)