Midnight Hole is the most beloved swimming hole in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an emerald-green pool of startling clarity sitting at the base of a six-foot waterfall, ringed by house-sized boulders in the quiet Big Creek section on the park's North Carolina side. The water is deep, cold and impossibly clear, the boulders are made for sunning, and the short walk in makes it one of the rare Smokies destinations that delivers a postcard scene without a punishing hike. It has become a genuine summer institution for western North Carolina.

The hike is about 1.5 miles each way, roughly three miles round trip, following the Big Creek Trail from the Big Creek Picnic Area. The trail is an old railroad grade built by the Crestmont Lumber Company in the early 1900s to haul timber out of these mountains, which left behind a smooth, even, barely-climbing path. That makes it excellent for families and first-time hikers, with wildflowers lining the corridor through spring and early summer and Big Creek tumbling alongside most of the way.

At the hole itself, the creek edges are shallow and pebbly, and the water deepens as you move toward the waterfall and the big boulders. Jumping from the rocks is a long-standing tradition here, though depth varies with the season's flow and the landing zones are not uniform, so it's worth getting in and checking before anyone leaps. The water is genuinely, shockingly cold even in August, cold enough to steal your breath on entry, and Big Creek runs fast and pushy after rain.

Be ready for company. Midnight Hole is popular, and on a summer weekend between roughly 10 a.m. and late afternoon it is common to find 50 to 100 people spread across the water and rocks. An early start or a weekday visit buys a dramatically different experience, and the pool in morning light with nobody in it is worth the alarm clock. Note that pets are not allowed on the Big Creek Trail, in keeping with National Park Service rules across nearly all park trails.

Access is from Interstate 40 at the Waterville Road exit, Exit 451, with parking at the Big Creek Picnic Area next to Big Creek Campground; the lot fills on busy days. Because it sits in the park's far northeastern corner, Big Creek stays quieter overall than the Gatlinburg side. Best of all, the trail keeps going: Mouse Creek Falls, a two-tiered 45-foot cascade, is only about another three-quarters of a mile up the same easy grade, making the pair a natural combined outing.

Bring water shoes for the slick rock, a towel, sun cover for the open boulders, and a trash bag to pack out. Between the waterfall, the boulders and that impossibly clear green water, Midnight Hole earns every bit of its reputation.