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Elks next to Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance sign
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to a number of different animals you want to avoid getting close to during your visit. Bears tend to be the biggest concern for tourists, but rangers had to issue a reminder about the pitfalls of getting up close and personal with elk following a string of incidents during mating season.
In 2025, 11.5 million people made the trek to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the 522,427-acre expanse that stretches across the eastern part of Tennessee and the western region of North Carolina.
I’ve never personally had the chance to visit the park, but I’ve become pretty familiar with the region and the surrounding areas thanks to the slew of stories involving the many bears who’ve managed to cause some trouble inside its confines and some of the towns located on its edge (especially Gatlinburg, the gateway that’s routinely invaded by the mammals).
Last year, the park had to remind people it’s a bad idea to feed bears, and a different species was responsible for another warning that needed to be issued following a string of incidents.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park put out an elk advisory after multiple tourists were injured during the rut
In 2001, the National Park Service attempted to expand the range of elk in the Smokies by transporting 25 of those animals from Kentucky to the Cataloochee Valley in North Carolina (27 more from Canada were introduced the following year).
That effort ended up being a success, as there were around 250 elk in the region as of earlier this year. The population has grown due to the mating that occurs during what is known as the “rut,” which typically kicks off near the start of September and wraps up midway through October.
Many people flock to the areas where elk convene during the rut to soak in the signature bugle they use to lure in mates, but you also need to be more cautious than you normally would around the animals due to their increased aggressiveness during that time of the year.
Visitors are required to remain at least 75 feet away from elk when visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but it would appear a number of tourists have opted to disregard that rule based on the statement that was issued on Wednesday.
Rangers stressed “approaching elk is dangerous and illegal” while noting “several” people have recently been injured after ignoring the aforementioned rules, including one who had insult added to literal injury after they suffered an “arm puncture” courtesy of an elk antler and subsequently received a citation for getting too close.
You’ve been warned.