Smokies Have Two New Summer Programs For Families - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has two new programs this summer designed for families.

The Hike the Smokies program encourages families to hike the park's shorter, less strenuous trails. They get the chance to record the number of miles hiked in a booklet created especially for the participants.

The Adopt a Trail program gives parents and children an opportunity to help maintain a short, kid-friendly park trail. As trail adopters, families help preserve the beauty of a trail by keeping it trash free. Adopters also remove small branches from the trail and report larger maintenance needs to the park.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)