Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hiring for 2026. But after 2025 saw staffing and budget cuts to national parks across the country and the longest federal government shutdown in history, what’s ahead for the country’s most visited national park in the new year is still up in the air.
Spring and summer job openings at the park are typically posted between October and February, and hiring for those positions ramps up in January and February. Longtime park advocates and former National Park Service leaders worry that park employees will be stretched thin, which could affect visitor experiences at the Smokies and other national parks.
“My greatest concern is that the budgets will be cut again and that the size of the National Park Service will be diminished,” Phil Francis, a former deputy superintendent and acting superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park told Knox News.
“(Park) managers may not have the resources they need in order to provide that basic level of protection and service, protection of park resources, protection of park visitors, and then service to the people who come visit,” Francis explained.
And because Congress has not yet finalized the decreased National Park Service budget for the 2026 fiscal year, parks are recruiting job applicants without certainty that the budget will cover all available positions, according to Francis and other park service advocates.
Seasonal hiring is underway, but staffing isn’t guaranteed.
Over a dozen seasonal positions are available at Great Smoky Mountains National Park as of Dec. 10, including maintenance, carpentry and painting, equipment operators, science technicians and search and rescue rangers.
There’s a search for a permanent assistant superintendent, too. Charles Sellars has been the park’s interim superintendent since January 2025.
“If I were a superintendent – and I have been one – I would want to be prepared to fill vacant jobs in case I get them,” Francis said.
But will the Smokies and other national parks be able to fill those vacancies?
The Trump Administration requested $2.1 billion for the National Park Service in the 2026 fiscal year, 37% less than the $3.3 billion granted to the park service in 2025.
However, the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Appropriations each reported a little over $3 billion for the park service, with both amounts more than what the Trump Administration requested and slightly less than the 2025 budget.
Congress has until late January to pass a long-term funding agreement for 2026.
Simply put: if the necessary funding is allocated, “We’ll have more people to take care of the millions of people who visit the Smokies each year,” Francis noted.
“And if we don’t get the funding,” he added, “then it’s going to be a bigger challenge,” leaving parks understaffed and employees possibly performing duties they weren’t hired to do.
The National Parks Conservation Association echoed this sentiment. The advocacy group for national parks told Knox News in a statement it is still assessing the impacts of the 2025 staffing cuts, the government shutdown and other challenges.
It is also urging Congress to “reinstate previously cut positions, equip parks to hire both seasonal and permanent staff that are needed, and pass a budget that provides adequate funding that supports the needs of the parks.”
Those needs include disaster recovery, such as Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the Smokies, educational programming, outreach and day-to-day operations that improve visitor experience.
When could national park visitors notice any short-staffing?
Park service budgets and staffing have fluctuated since 2010. In fact, the NPCA estimates park staffing has decreased by 23% since 2010. Francis, who is the chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said he recently talked to a park leader who had lost 34% of their staff.
Impacts of any staffing shortages vary depending on time of year and the mix of seasonal versus permanent employees.
Bill Wade with the Association of National Park Rangers said that if there are enough candidates, seasonal hires can help stabilize operations like visitor centers, trails maintenance and campground management.
But he noted that “staffing during the ‘off season’ will be lower and impacts will occur.”
That means staff could be required to work outside their job descriptions and fill roles they weren’t specifically trained for, leading to reduced trail work or delays in routine maintenance that keep facilities safe and accessible. There could also be fewer rangers available to assist visitors or with slower response times.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reinforcements
Despite the overall concerns from advocacy groups, Great Smoky Mountains National Park does benefit from strong partnerships that help fill gaps, such as volunteer programs, Friends of the Smokies and Smokies Life.
The Smokies’ Preventative Search and Rescue team is a group of first responders comprised of volunteers and park rangers that address common mistakes or knowledge gaps before they grow into emergencies.
Dedicated volunteers in the Volunteers in Park (or VIPs) program help with everything from staffing visitor centers and guiding on trails to trash pickup, trail maintenance, data collection, and even driving patrol vehicles.
And for most of the recent government shutdown, Friends of the Smokies, the park’s fundraising arm, was among a group of state and local agencies that kept the park fully funded and operational. Smokies Life, the park’s educational and retail partner, stepped up to help visitors and support park staff.
“The Smokies is very lucky to have what they have,” Francis said. “But they need more. They need full funding.”
The funding is needed especially since Friends of the Smokies, Smokies Life and volunteer work can only go so far. Funds from those entities cannot pay for park staffers on a permanent basis.
More than 1,600 people volunteered their time to help Smokies staffers between October 2023 and September 2024.
What can visitors do?
Visitors obviously can’t control the federal budget or hire Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff, but they can help park staff, volunteers and partner organizations during this period of uncertainty.
“People need to support the national parks,” Francis said. “When park visitors see employees, just tell them thank you. They’re doing the best they can.