Mingo Falls is a 120-foot waterfall in the Qualla Boundary near Cherokee, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Among the tallest waterfalls in the southern Appalachians, it stands near the Blue Ridge Parkway and the eastern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its name comes from the Cherokee word Mingo, meaning Big Bear, and it is also known informally as Big Bear Falls. The water drops on Mingo Creek in the Lower Raven Fork watershed before joining the Oconaluftee River, linking the site to Cherokee homelands. Reached by the Pigeon Creek Trail, it remains a scenic destination and notable natural landmark.