The wildflowers I saw on this hike on the Big Creek Trail are listed below but the pictures are file photos from previous hikes.
Big Creek Trail follows an old railroad grade, built by the Crestmont Lumber Company in the early 1900s to haul lumber out of the mountains.
I hiked the trail to the first large bridge via Midnight Hole and Mouse Falls.
The hike to Mouse Falls is termed a good hike for novice hikers. After another nearly two miles of hiking, the trail passes Midnight Hole, a deep, green pool that lies just below a six-foot waterfall.
- Asiatic Dayflower – (1) – Peak bloom (so small yet so beautiful).
- Flowering Spurge – Some – Past peak bloom.
- Heal All – Some – Appear to be just starting to bloom.
- Pale Jewelweed – Some – At peak bloom.
- Pink Trefoil – Many – At peak bloom or beyond.
- Purple Flowering Raspberry – Few – Past peak bloom (about gone).
- Rosebay Rhododendron – Many – Some at peak bloom – many past peak bloom (especially near beginning of the trail).
- Saint John’s Wort – Some – Just starting to bloom (believe they are Dwarf St. John’s Wort).
- Wood Nettle – Some – Past peak bloom.
Tom Harrington is a regular hiker who reports on wildflowers in the Smokies.