What pairs better on a hot summer day than a moderate (yet short) trail with an incredible waterfall swimming hole awaiting at the end of the hike? If it’s a really cool (in every sense of the word cool) swimming hole in North Carolina that you seek – and one that won’t be overrun with tourists – then hit the Hunt Fish Falls Trail that departs just south of Newland.

This moderate hike is less than a mile each way (0.7 mile) and leads to a beautiful tiered waterfall with swimming available on each level.
Google/Berduno
But as fun as the small dugout pool in the rock of the upper tier is, it's the enormous swimming hole with a progressively deeper base that will capture your attention.
From way overhead the view of Hunt Fish Falls from the sky paints one picture of this swimming hole. But down on the ground, you get a real sense of the fun that awaits.
Google/Brooks Payne
Altogether, the falls combined couldn't be more than 15 feet tall. And the small plunge pool at the base of the top tier is perfectly sized for splashing about and cooling off on a hot summer day.
AllTrails/Bonnie Fleming
Just be careful of walking on the rocks too close to the edge of the waterfall - and instruct children to do the same. It may not be an exceptionally long drop, but you'll land on rock and injuries can occur.
Kids of all ages can have fun playing here. There are shallow points all around the edges of the lagoons.
Google/Ron Raitliff

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Pets, too, are allowed on the trail and at the falls. If you're sharing the falls experience with others, please leave the pets on a leash, though.
Google/Chris
Kids and adults alike will love this tiered waterfall and the swimming holes of this remote and rugged area of the Pisgah National Forest.
AllTrails/Colin Krasen
The scenery here is ripped from a postcard you would have sent back home to loved ones in the 70s. It really is beautiful!
Google/Russ Daubert
Waterfalls, swimming holes, ice cold creek water, and summer. What else do you need?
AllTrails/Bonnie Fleming
Note there are several published trails to get to Hunt Fish Falls. Some are much longer and much more difficult than others.
Google Maps
We'd recommend the trail mentioned in this article, which is a total of 1.4 miles out and back.

Have you ever visited Hunt Fish Falls? If not, then this swimming hole in North Carolina is ripe to be added to your list of favorites!

For another nearby must-visit destination hike, check out the short trail to Wiseman’s View!

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