Tremont Offers Fall Family Backpack Weekend

(Great Smoky Mountains) – Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is accepting registrations for its Fall Family Backpack Weekend to be held October 10-12.  This special program, designed for families with children 12 and older, offers a weekend of in-depth experiences in the Smokies.

“Tremont builds fun into programming and makes it educational too,” says Amber Parker, program director for Tremont. “Many times children and even adults don’t realize they are learning because they are having the time of their lives. We want families to experience the Smokies together like never before.”

This adventure will begin at Great Smoky Mountains Institute where families will gather for an evening of planning and packing while learning Leave No Trace Principles and other information that will make their trip fun and safe.  Families will spend Friday night tent camping in the beautiful hemlock forest on the Tremont campus. 

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, the group will travel to the Gregory Ridge trailhead on the west side of Cades Cove, a mountain valley cove that is famed for its preserved pioneer farms, wildlife and scenic views as families explore the parts of the cove people rarely see. Saturday evening, the group will camp in an old growth forest next to a rushing mountain stream.  Along the way families will learn backpacking techniques, including backcountry cooking and camping methods.

Tremont provides all the gear needed for a backpack into the Smokies. “We provide all the camping gear and food, all you have to bring is yourself and a sleeping bag,” states Mary Silver Tremont teacher/naturalist and guide on many backpacking trips into the Smokies. “Leave it to us to plan a fun and entertaining weekend.  Imagine taking the family on a trip without all the usual stress.”

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, known for its beautiful mountain ranges in “the land of blue smoke” will provide the magic of nature. A natural classroom, the Smokies provide wonder on every turn of the trail while Tremont staff share in-depth knowledge and instruction along the way.

For more information or to register for Tremont’s Fall Family Backpack Weekend, visit www.gsmit.org, call 865-448-6709, or e-mail mail@gsmit.org.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private non-profit organization that operates a residential environmental learning center within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Since 1969 Tremont has provided in-depth experiences to hundreds of thousands of people of all ages through residential educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.

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