A new stone marker for the western terminus of the 1,175-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) was unveiled Thursday at the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
KUWOHI, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (April 9, 2026) – At the foot of the Kuwohi Observation Tower at the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Thursday the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail unveiled a new stone marker for the trail’s western terminus.
The unveiling marks a milestone moment for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a 1,175-mile footpath that crosses North Carolina from the Tennessee state line at Kuwohi to the Atlantic Ocean at Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. The marker will serve as a starting or finish point for hikers. It also raises awareness of the trail with its location at one of the most popular attractions in the most-visited national park in the country.
Danny Bernstein, an avid hiker and outdoor writer from Asheville, was a driving force in the effort to create a marker for the western terminus. She recalled her experience completing the MST in 2011 with difficulty locating the western terminus and nothing at the beach to mark the finish.
“This marker means a lot,” said Bernstein. “It is beautiful. It is obvious. It has a very nice description of what the MST is on a plaque. Now we’ll have more people seeing this marker and thinking about the trail starting here. And people will want to get their picture taken at the marker looking through the stone.”
Friends of the Smokies donated the new stone marker and commissioned Knoxville artist Preston Farabow to create it. Farabow built the marker with around 700 pounds of indigenous stone known as Smoky Mountain gray marble along with a large bronze plaque. He modeled the marker to share similar features with the wooden eastern terminus marker that was installed on the Outer Banks in September 2023.
“I looked at what had already been created by Ben Jones at the other end of this trail. A looking glass of sorts, framing our beautiful piece of the world and beckoning the viewer to explore beyond,” said Farabow at the unveiling ceremony. “I was born in North Carolina and live in Tennessee. To be able to create something significant like this right on the state line of my home states was really an overwhelming opportunity.”
“We believe this marker will be a site of celebration for veteran hikers starting or finishing an epic journey,” said Brent Laurenz, executive director of the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. “It will also be a source of inspiration for someone who encounters the MST for the first time standing here atop Kuwohi.”
Great Smoky Mountains National Park superintendent Charlie Sellars welcomed a crowd of more than 70 people who hiked up the half-mile Kuwohi Trail for the unveiling ceremony.
“We’re grateful that the Mountains‑to‑Sea Trail now has a more visible presence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and even more grateful for the partners who made it possible,” said Supt. Sellars. “Today is a celebration of our shared work, stewardship, and joy in preserving these landscapes and the adventures they inspire.”
“The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is truly a place where countless memories are going to be made,” said Dana Soehn, president and CEO of Friends of the Smokies. “I think as Friends of the Smokies, this is also a place where new friends are going to be formed along the way. And that’s part of our mission is to create lifelong friends of these mountains, and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail allows that to happen one step at a time.”
Photos of the installation of the marker on March 25 and the unveiling ceremony on April 9 are available for download at the links below. You can watch the full unveiling ceremony on the Friends of the Smokies YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDG_EMfjcIY
About Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies is the official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through private donations, fundraising events, and specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee, Friends raises money to fund needed projects and programs in the national park that would otherwise go unfunded.
Learn more about how to get a Friends of the Smokies license plate at BearPlate.org. You can make a direct tax-deductible donation at our website. We are also grateful for those who pitch in at our donation boxes throughout the park. Every gift makes a significant difference for our beloved Smokies. Thank you, Friends!
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