The National Park Service (NPS) cares for more than 150 cemeteries across Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The NPS allows burial of individuals who can trace their direct lineage to a family member within three generations (e.g. grandmother, great-grandfather), as long as space permits. This ensures that family members or their designees can access these cemeteries for burial purposes, provided these activities do not jeopardize safety or resource protection. Approval of advanced burial requests will be considered but cannot be guaranteed, as all burials are on a first-come, first-served basis and are dependent upon adequate remaining cemetery space.
Active Cemeteries
Although there are many cemeteries in the park, the active cemeteries with available space (as of this writing) for burials are:
Levi Trentham (Elkmont)
Methodist Cemetery (Cades Cove)
Missionary Baptist (Cades Cove)
Tritt Cemetery (Cosby)
Mack McMahan Cemetery (Cosby)
William Ford Cemetery (Cosby)
Price Cemetery (Greenbrier)
Rector-Copeland Cemetery (Greenbrier)
Hopkins Cemetery (Big Creek)
New Beck Cemetery (Oconaluftee)
Burial Requests
Please direct burial inquiries to the park’s Cultural Resources Program Manager for processing via email or by phone at (865) 801-4881. Before a burial can be implemented, a Letter of Authorization is required (see required steps below below).
Processing Burial Requests
Once a request is received, the park's Cultural Resources Program Manager will contact the requester within four business days.
Park staff will verify the descendant’s right to be buried and check if there is adequate cemetery space.
The Cultural Resources Program Manager will contact the requestor or funeral home to identify the point of contact for burial operations, and to understand and accommodate (as feasible) the preferred dates for the funeral and grave digging.
Before a burial can take place, a qualified archeologist is required to mark the grave site. The archeologists will review ground penetrating radar data and use probing techniques to ensure there is no existing grave at the proposed location. Depending on the circumstances, an archaeologist may also be needed to monitor the burial to ensure adherence to federal compliance obligations.
Grave digging must be scheduled at least 24 hours prior to the graveside service to allow for potential delays due to unseen impediments such as weather or rocky soil, as the digging must be done by hand. Mechanized excavation is not authorized.
Grave digging must be performed by professional gravediggers provided by the funeral home. The person(s) digging the grave will be expected to conduct themselves in a respectful and courteous manner.
The Cultural Resources Program Manager will issue a Letter of Authorization, as appropriate, to allow the burial.
Once the Letter of Authorization is issued, the Cultural Resources Program Manager will finalize the needed monitoring and excavation. The park will issue any required parking passes for the gravedigger and funeral ceremony attendees through the Special Use Permit process.
Scattering of Ashes
Requests for scattering ashes require permission pursuant to 36 CFR 2.62(b). Please visit the Scatter Cremated Ashes webpage for details.
