The elevator at Chimney Rock State Park is closed for maintenance, but visitors can still reach the top of 315-foot Chimney Rock by taking the Outcroppings Trail from the upper parking lot to the top in about a half mile. Rates will be reduced to $9 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 6-15).

Naturalist John Muir, played by actor Lee Stetson, will be giving fireside chats on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 in WNC.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports that demolition of a North Toe River dam downstream from Spruce Pine is under way. Agency staff say its removal “will make the river safer for paddlers and open up miles of upstream habitat to fish and other aquatic life.” Here’s the latest update from the agency.

Attention, science educators: he U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is offering a series of water quality workshops for educators, Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 on Western North Carolina rivers where the endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel makes its home.

Here’s your chance to get inside some usually restricted-access fire lookout towers in Western North Carolina: the Forest Fire Lookout Association’s annual summer conference in Asheville, July 25 and 26.

If you’ve ever yearned to escape modern life, even for a short while, or you’re curious about how things used to be done … a long, long time ago … consider spending up to four days at the Firefly Gathering.