Gentlemen's Swimming Hole

The Gentlemen's Swimming Hole and Meeting of the Waters Loop Trail leads into the Clear Fork River gorge and along the river to its junction with White Oak Creek in a landscape noted for beauty, ecological diversity, and history. The route passes huge rocks, high rock shelters, the site of Buck's Mill, and the Meeting of the Waters, where Rugby residents have gathered to fish, picnic, and loaf for some 130 years. Abundant trees, shrubs, ferns, and wildflowers reflect Rugby's reputation as a place to study many of the "ologies." Most of the approximately 2.2-mile loop trail was built by Rugby colonists in the 1880s and is now owned and maintained by the National Park Service, while a shorter 4/10-mile section leads to the swimming hole and back. In an October 5, 1880, opening day speech, Rugby founder Thomas Hughes said the town had reserved strips of land along the streams as common property so that walks and rides could be laid out for public use and enjoyment. The Rugby community maintained the trail for more than a century until the land became part of the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, and the rivers are now protected for the enjoyment of all.

Tennessee · United States