Mouse Creek Falls

See the Big Creek Region web page for an interactive location map.

Length: 4.25-miles round trip
Time: 2 hours, including time to photograph the falls
Difficulty: Easy

The shortest loop hike that can be pieced together from the trails within the Big Creek Region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is 15 miles long, so day hikers are pretty much stuck hiking out-and-back on one of the six trails in the immediate area, one of which is the Appalachian Trail. I can’t see anything more pointless than a hike that covers the same ground twice unless there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I chose a 4.25-mile round trip hike to the charming Mouse Creek Falls via the Big Creek Trail.

The start of Big Creek Trail is at the Big Creek Campground complex. There are a number of parking areas to choose from, but the closest one to the trailhead is at the picnic area near the group camping site. You will actually pass the trail on the way to the parking lot, so return back down the road after parking.

Start of Big Creek Trail and Big Creek Campground

For most of the hike to Mouse Creek Falls, Big Creek Trail follows what surely was once an old logging road or railroad bed. The trail is wide and the terrain is largely free of large rocks and roots. There are short stretches where buried rocks break the surface of the trail, but this never gets to the point where you need to slow down and watch your step so that you don’t twist an ankle.

From the start, you will find yourself on a long, gradual incline, so gradual that you might as well consider the trail flat. I hiked a mile in 20 minutes, and I rarely hike a mile faster than a half hour. Much of my speed can be attributed to the fact that the scenery does not change much, so I wasn’t stopping to take photos nearly as often as I would have been had the trail been more dynamic.

Typical terrain of Big Creek Trail

The dynamics do change about 1.5 miles into the hike. On the entire journey to Mouse Creek Falls, Big Creek Trail follows its namesake, Big Creek, but for the first mile and a half the creek is either too far away or obscured by trees to make any impact. The trail starts off on a ridge high above the creek, and it isn’t until reaching the aforementioned 1.5-mile point that you finally get to hear and see the rushing water. However, you are never at the point where you can jump right in because a thin barrier of trees and brush still stands in the way.

There are a few side trails that people have beaten through the brush that will get you down to the riverbank. Using one such trail I was able to get onto some rocks for a nice photo of what I believe is Midnight Hole (the sign at the trailhead indicated that Midnight Hole was 1.5 miles away). This is a popular swimming hole in the summer, but nobody was there when I visited in October. The rocks are slippery, so be careful not to fall and crack your head open.

Rapids at Midnight Hole area

As you get closer to the falls, which are just three-quarters of a mile away, there are a number of places were the trees between the trail and the creek vanish and you can get a window of view to the water without having to leave Big Creek Trail. I found a spot where the river bent around a corner, and I was able to get a superb photo looking downstream into Big Creek.

Big Creek

You finally reach Mouse Creek Falls a little over two miles into the hike. However, right at the 2-mile point you will see a pathway that leads down to a small cascade of water and you are going to say to yourself, “Is this it?” No, this is not the falls. Keep walking a little farther down the trail and you will see a horse hitching post. The waterfall is just past this—walk towards the sound of roaring water. There is no mistaking Mouse Creek Falls for a small cascade.

If you want to get a “misty water” photo, be sure to bring a tripod with you. I did not have one and had to improvise by building a scaffolding out of a pile of rocks and then hoping for the best. Make it easy on yourself and bring the tripod.

Mouse Creek Falls

Big Creek Trail continues past the falls for another three miles before connecting to other trails. Unless you are horseback riding, heading to a backcountry campsite, or are just a glutton for exercise, when done at the waterfall, turn around and head back the way you came. You can’t ask for an easier hike to a wonderful scenic view here in the Smoky Mountains. Round trip is a little over four miles, and you should be able to complete the trek within two hours.

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