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Spring’s splendor is now behind us and the hot, humid temperatures of summer are just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to talk about hiking in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.

The heat notwithstanding, summer’s dry and sunny days provide ample opportunity for exploring the best that the Big South Fork has to offer, especially in the early morning or the late evening. Besides, the trails that travel along the river’s edge pass by plenty of good swimming holes for jumping in and cooling off, and summer months offer the best bass fishing in Big South Fork country.

Whether it’s the historic community of No Business or the cultural throwback to years gone by at the Blevins farm, there are plenty of places to see in Scott County’s back yard. The beaten trails offer plenty, and the untamed backwoods offer even more, for those who are brave enough to leave the beaten trails behind. With 125,000 acres of relatively unbroken splendor, it isn’t hard to get away from other humans in the Big South Fork.

Here are 10 must-see places in the Big South Fork this summer. I’ll bet you that 90% of Scott Countians who have lived here all their lives haven’t hiked all of them. That’s too bad. There’s beautiful country out there, just waiting to be explored.

1.) Honey Creek Loop Trail. Formerly the Pocket Wilderness, this 5.6-mile loop on the park’s southern end is billed as the most strenuous in the entire park. It’s also the most breath-taking. It might seem a short hike, but the difficulty makes it a day-long adventure even for many experienced hikers. The trail begins in the gently rolling hardwoods of the Plateau table but soon drops into the sheer terrain of the river gorge, traveling under cliff walls, by waterfalls and even through natural rock tunnels. Near its end, the trail climbs back to the top of the gorge for a beautiful view of the Big South Fork River from the Honey Creek Overlook. (Not recommended for children.)

2.) Burnt Mill Loop. It’s one of the most unheralded trails in the entire park, but it’s also one of the most beautiful. Despite being located a stone’s throw from Honey Creek Loop, the terrain and geographical makeup of the Burnt Mill Loop is entirely different. From the Burnt Mill Bridge on Honey Creek Road, the 3.9-mile trail travels south along the Clear Fork River for a short distance, passing rock houses and rock walls before climbing to the top of the gorge and traversing the Plateau tabletop through open hardwoods and dropping back into the gorge. On the final leg, the trail follows a peaceful stretch of the Clear Fork with some nice picnic sites and a couple of nice swimming holes (the Clear Fork offers the cleanest water of the entire park). Look closely enough and you might see what we always refer to as “the shower,” a wet-weather waterfall located near the trail where we showered while camping along the Clear Fork. And, if you time it just right, edible wild berries grow in abundance along a section of the trail. For the more adventurous, the Beaver Falls Trail—which is a section of the John Muir trail—links Burnt Mill to Honey Creek and the Honey Creek Overlook.

3.) Angel Falls Overlook Trail. Last fall, I was leading a day-long expedition into Big South Fork country that included a visit to Angel Falls Overlook. One of our guests, a lifelong Scott Countian, said he had never been there before. I was amazed. If you have never been to Angel Falls Overlook, you are missing out on one of the greatest spectacles that this region has to offer. One of my favorite places on earth, I could sit for hours on that rock outcropping, watching redtail hawks soar high above the Big South Fork River and listening to the rapids crash against the rocks far below. (The overlook is unprotected and hazardous for children or pets.) The six-mile round-trip begins and ends at the Leatherwood Ford parking lot, with the trail following the west bank of the BSF for much of its distance before beginning the ascent to the top of the gorge at Falls Branch. The climb of 500 ft. isn’t particularly enjoyable but the views from the top are well worth the effort. Want more? Hike a loop portion of the Grand Gap Loop Trail and turn the six mile trip into a twelve mile trip. Want flat ground? Bypass Leatherwood Ford for Bandy Creek and hike the slightly longer but totally flat (well, almost) trail from John Litton Farm to Grand Gap Loop.

4.) Laurel Fork Creek. Get away from the river and experience the peaceful back country, where the only sounds are those of the wild life. Few people venture this far back, and once you leave the horse trail behind you’ll usually have the woods all to yourself. It’s a peaceful walk along Laurel Fork Creek and is especially enjoyable during the fall. It won’t take long to discover why the early settlers of Big South Fork country fell in love with this particular area. If you look closely enough, you might be fortunate enough to see a brown trout in Laurel Fork Creek. Officially, trout do not exist in the BSF. But there are still a few of them in a couple of the back country streams where they were once released, decades ago. Get there by wading across the river (or floating across in a canoe) at Station Camp. Want more? Begin your hike atop the gorge via John Litton Farm Road.

5.) No Business. There are various ways to get into the old No Business valley. From River Trail East, River Trail West, or the back way, from Terry Cemetery. Unless you want a long hike, from Station Camp, the easiest way is via Terry Cemetery. It’s a long drive to Terry Cemetery, but the reward is a spectacular view from the John Muir Overlook and getting to the bottom of the gorge via Maude’s Crack. Maude was an actual person, and she’s buried in the Terry Cemetery. There are different versions of how Maude’s Crack got its name. One is that Maude’s husband and other men were logging in the river gorge and Maude would take them lunch. The men were amazed at how she could make it to the bottom of the gorge while the food was still warm. They didn’t realize she had a secret route: a crack in the rock that was a much shorter route than the men took to reach the bottom. The old homesteads of No Business are gone but lots of visible signs remain, including rock walls, grown-over fields and a few rusty old relics. There’s lots of culture along No Business Creek.

6.) Charit Creek Lodge. Once used as a camp by long hunters, later as a homestead and still later as a commercial hunting operation in the mid 20th Century, Charit Creek Lodge (aka the Pig Farm) is today the Big South Fork’s version of Mt. LeConte in the Smokies: a back-country lodge accessible only by hoof or boot. The shortest route is via Divide Road. A trail head is located at the top of the gorge just above Charit Creek. The scenic route is to ford the Big South Fork at Station camp and make the three mile hike up Charit Creek. The trail travels through dense hardwoods and past the forgotten Owens Cemetery. It’s slightly off trail and it isn’t marked but if you know where to look, you’ll find the cemetery, which contains the graves of several children who died in the 1890s. The Owens homestead is nearby. Today, no one knows exactly who the Owens were, but it’s believed that they farmed the land (you can see remnants of their farm) and operated a grist mill on the creek. If you make reservations ahead of time, a hot meal can be had (for a price) at Charit Creek. The lodge is nestled in a beautiful setting: a field surrounded by the sheer cliff lines.

7.) Twin Arches. It sounds simple, but a surprising number of Scott Countians have never been to the Twin Arches. These spectacular arches are the largest in the BSF and are accessible via a 0.7 mile hike. The hike contains a steep ladder one way and steep stair steps the other way (so use caution with pets or children). Very few natural bridges in the world can match the Twin Arches…the largest of which stands more than 100 ft. tall and spans more than 100 ft. in length. This is a worthwhile hike in any season. Want more? Hike from the Twin Arches to Charit Creek and back.

8.) Sunset Overlook. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about the one mile hike to Sunset Overlook…except for the view at the end. From the overlook (unprotected, use extreme caution with children or pets), the North White Oak Creek gorge, Leatherwood Overlook, Leatherwood Ford bridge at S.R. 297 and Sunset Overlook can all be seen.

9.) Angel Falls. Most folks who aren’t familiar with Angel Falls are disappointed when they get there. They set off down the two-mile (one way) foot path expecting to find a real waterfall at the end. Instead, they find a major rapid. But don’t let that fool you. Most folks cannot appreciate the spectacular geographical makeup of Angel Falls. It’s an extremely dangerous rapid for boaters who attempt to navigate it, as the river’s flow is forced through a narrow rock-lined passage. Only two boaters have drowned at Angel Falls since the park was established, but that’s because most are smart enough to portage around it. Angel Falls is a greater danger to hikers who attempt to climb over the rocks and accidentally fall into the rushing waters. Several have died that way. In any event, the name can be deceiving. Angel Falls is believed to have been named to offset the evil Devil’s Jump further downstream. But there’s hardly anything angelic about this rapids, which took on its present look when it was dynamited to make way for a canoe race in the 1970s, before the park was established. The four-mile round trip is one of the easiest hikes in the park. But beware: I hike this trail often and have rarely made the hike that I haven’t happened across a copperhead snake, including one experience last summer when I was almost bitten and probably should have been bitten (I saw the snake as it was preparing to strike and somehow managed to get out of the way in time). The snakes are especially prominent in the late evening, when they crawl out onto the still-warm gravel after the sun has set. Want variety? Hike in from the top of the gorge by way of the John Muir Place (via Angel Falls Village off S.R. 297). Want more? Extend your hike…River Trail East goes as far as Station Camp and beyond and is a gentle trail that follows the river for its duration. Squirrels and turkey can be found in abundance along the route, deer are quite common and black bear are sometimes seen in the vicinity of Station Camp, which is about seven miles below Angel Falls.

10.) O&W Road. This may be the most underrated adventure in the entire national park. Culture, history and scenery abound. This was a favorite Jeep and ATV trail for years, but was recently closed by the National Park Service. Vehicular traffic is permitted only as far as the North White Oak Creek crossing on either end (Fentress County on the west side, Scott County on the east side). The remainder of the road—which follows the old O&W Railroad grade—is open to hikers, horseback riders and bicyclists. The creek crossings are very difficult if a bridge hasn’t been constructed since I last visited (presumably, there are still no bridges). The drive to O&W offers spectacular scenery of the sheer cliff lines that encase the BSF. But once you pass the O&W Railroad Bridge, the route follows North White Oak Creek away from the river. The sound of the river cascading over rapids gives way to the gentle sound of the White Oak’s flow and the sounds of the forest. The path is flat, there are several beautiful creek crossings (besides the White Oak crossings) and there are fish to be caught in White Oak creek. The small creek is the largest tributary to the BSF besides Clear Fork and New River and there are a few swimming holes along the way (the water here is much colder than in the river, however). Look close enough and you’ll see a large rock that some loco locals jump off of to swim. The water is especially deep in that location and the rock towers about 40 ft. above the water. In the early days of the 20th Century, trains carried mail, supplies and workers into—and coal and timber out of—mining and timber communities in these parts, such as Speck and Zenith. Those communities are long gone, but there are traces of coal mining that remain, if you look hard enough.