Great Smoky Mountains Association is one of the National Park Service’s oldest and most enduring partners — promoting better understanding and appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park through engaging publications, educational products, interpretive activities, membership events, and more.
Since the organization’s inception, GSMA has given more than $47 million in support to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, funding important projects that keep the Smokies safe and enjoyable for all — and it’s all thanks to people like you, who care about the future of national parks.
By becoming a member of GSMA, you join forces with more than 29,000 individuals from all over the world in celebrating and conserving all that the Great Smoky Mountains have to offer. Starting at just $35 annually, your membership makes you a committed steward of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and each membership includes a subscription to Smokies Life magazine, discounts on all purchases at GSMA’s stores in the park and online, and exclusive invitations to members-only hikes and events.
Enhancing Park Experiences
Perhaps one of its biggest contributions to enhancing visitor experience of the Smokies, GSMA operates 11 retail stores and visitor contact stations, and the park’s official online store, smokiesinformation.org. Each purchase helps support scientific, historical, and interpretive activities in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
GSMA is committed to providing a wide variety of high-quality, informative, and culturally significant products at each of its stores, from books, guides, and magazines to locally recorded documentaries and music CDs, souvenirs, and apparel to Appalachian-grown food products.
Since 1958, GSMA has also supported its own vibrant publications program, printing and distributing more than one million copies of 100-plus publications per year. During this process, GSMA works closely with the National Park Service to maintain a balance between books and other products with wide audience appeal and scientific and educational subject matter — as well as to ensure each published work meets the organization’s high standards for interpretive products.
In addition to publishing books, videography, and educational brochures, GSMA is also responsible for keeping visitors and members informed — producing the park’s official free newspaper, Smokies Guide, its biannual member magazine, Smokies Life, and its online magazine and newsletter, Smokies LIVE. Full of stunning photography and thought-provoking reads, Smokies Life provides readers with a deeper dive into the flora, fauna, culture, and history of the park, while also offering a behind-the-scenes look into park maintenance and restoration, scientific research and discoveries and other current events. Smokies Life is mailed to members free of charge each spring and fall and is also available for purchase in retail stores throughout the park.
In 2021, GSMA launched its six-part podcast mini-series, “Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music.” Hosted by Drs. William Turner and Ted Olson, “Sepia Tones” surveys the many Black roots and branches of Southern Appalachian music by sharing research, listening to recordings, and interviewing contemporary Black musicians and experts in music history.
The second episode of “Sepia Tones”, “Driving (and Fiddling) While Black, Appalachian Music at Home and on the Road” features Earl White, an accomplished fiddler and prominent figure of old-time music and dance.
Each story told through GSMA’s work plays an important role in understanding and appreciating Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When woven together, these individual threads reveal a beautiful tapestry of culture, history, and wild surroundings.
About GSMA
Great Smoky Mountains Association is a nonprofit cooperating association founded in 1953 to support the perpetual preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. GSMA fulfills this mission by engaging with park visitors to promote better understanding and appreciation of the Smokies — all while providing more than $1 million in aid to the park each year.
Join Great Smoky Mountains Association, and help protect and preserve Great Smoky Mountains National Park — where black bears roam wild in natural surroundings. Your GSMA membership comes with benefits for you too, like a subscription to the biannual Smokies Life magazine and discounts on all purchases at GSMA’s stores in the park and online. Photo by Bill Lea
Member Dollars in Action
Though much of the organization’s funding comes from retail revenue, GSMA also depends on the generosity of its members to fulfill its mission of preserving the Smokies for generations to come.
Your membership:
- Helps the association welcome more than 14 million people to Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year with state-of-the-art visitor centers, where visitors can find educational programs or recommendations for the best hiking, picnicking, and camping spots.
- Supports backcountry rangers, who protect more than 800 miles of trails, full of waterfalls, scenic vistas, historic structures, and quiet groves of old-growth forest.
- Helps preserve cultural identity though old-time traditions like sorghum and soap making, spinning, quilting, and basket making.
- Protects more than 90 historic structures – houses, barns, outbuildings, churches, schools, and grist mills – that have been preserved or rehabilitated in the park.
- Helps the association manage the more than 1,900 black bears who are wild, free, and thriving in the park.
- Supports the fight against pests and invasive species attacking the park’s hemlock trees.
- Makes engaging educational experiences possible for thousands of students each year.
By becoming a member of GSMA, you join forces with more than 29,000 individuals from all over the world in celebrating and conserving all that the Great Smoky Mountains have to offer. Starting at just $35 annually, your membership makes you a committed steward of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and each membership includes a subscription to Smokies Life magazine, discounts on all purchases at GSMA’s stores in the park and online, and exclusive invitations to members-only hikes and events. Join today by clicking here.
Connect with Great Smoky Mountains Association
Follow us on social media:
Subscribe to:
- Smokies LIVE, GSMA’s online magazine and newsletter.
- Smoky Mountain Air, a podcast series featuring interviews and stories with authors, scientists, and park experts (available on most podcast-streaming platforms).
- Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music, a podcast mini-series (available on most podcast-streaming platforms).
Visit:
- GSMA’s online wildflower and fall color reports for daily updates on seasonal color in the Smokies.
- The park’s official online store, smokiesinformation.org.
