Townsend: Parks and Gardens

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is spread over an area of 0.5 million acres. This is the biggest piece of wilderness towards the East of the Mississippi. Overall, there are 800 miles of trails, minimum 235 birds, 35 amphibians, 71 mammals, more than 50 species of ferns, 150 tree species and more than 1,400 species of flowering plants. Hundreds of black bears can be seen moving through the park daily.