Big Creek is a crystalline mountain stream tumbling through the quiet northeastern corner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it may be the single best swimming creek in the Smokies. Cold, clear and boulder-strewn, it runs alongside one of the park's most pleasant trails and hosts the celebrated Midnight Hole, the emerald-green plunge pool that draws swimmers from across western North Carolina. The whole Big Creek area is an oasis of hiking, swimming, wildlife, fishing and unhurried relaxation, and it stays notably quieter than the Gatlinburg side of the park.

The creek is the heart of it. Its water runs shockingly cold even at the height of August, pouring over a bed of pebbles and jumbo boulders and gathering in pools of remarkable clarity. The Big Creek Trail follows it upstream on an old Crestmont Lumber Company railroad grade, an easy, smooth, gently climbing path that makes the creek's best features accessible to almost anyone: Midnight Hole at roughly 1.5 miles, and the two-tiered 45-foot Mouse Creek Falls about three-quarters of a mile beyond it.

Big Creek Campground anchors the area, a small and deliberately rustic operation with 12 tent-only sites, a short walk in from the parking area, with flush toilets and drinking water available. It sits at about 1,700 feet, surrounded by mountains and the sound of the creek. Reservations are required, and the park is explicit that you should book before you drive out, since cell coverage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is very limited and there is no way to reserve once you arrive. Peak season generally runs from mid-April into late October.

Access is from Interstate 40 at the Waterville Road exit, Exit 451, in the Waterville area on the North Carolina side near the Tennessee line. The area also serves anglers and wildlife watchers, and the trail continues deep into the backcountry toward Walnut Bottom for those wanting a longer day.

The creek runs fast and pushy after rain, its rocks are slick, and pool depths shift with the season's flow, so checking depth before jumping and keeping an eye on the current is worth the moment it takes. Note also that pets are not allowed on the Big Creek Trail, in line with National Park Service rules on nearly all park trails.

Come with water shoes, a towel, sun cover for the open boulders, food and water, and a trash bag. Between an easy railroad-grade trail, the best swimming hole in the park, a waterfall just beyond, and a tent campground beside the water, Big Creek is one of the Smokies' genuine treasures.