Wadsworth Falls is a 20-foot block waterfall on the Coginchaug River in Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middlefield, Connecticut. Also called Wadsworth Big Falls, it spreads across the full width of the river, and New England Waterfalls rates it one of the highest-volume undammed waterfalls in New England.
The falls
The river drops in a single broad curtain, wider than it is tall. Lidar data gives a height of 20 feet; earlier surveys listed 30 feet, and another guide gives 25. The water spills across a 52-foot-wide shelf of Hampden basalt. The park's bedrock of basalt and arkose is some of the youngest rock in Connecticut, about 200 million years old.
Getting there
The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Its main entrance is at 721 Wadsworth Street, but the official trail map shows a separate small parking area for Big Falls on Cherry Hill Road. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Parking is free for Connecticut-registered vehicles; out-of-state vehicles pay $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends and holidays, or $112 for a season pass.
When to go
April through November is the recommended season. The small lot can fill up even on chilly, rainy days.
On site
A raised view over the falls is reachable with limited wheelchair access, across bumpy grass and uneven stepping stones. The park offers all-terrain wheelchairs by advance reservation. Swimming and picnicking are prohibited at Big Falls, which the park intends for short visits; the park's designated swimming area is elsewhere. Dogs are allowed on leash on trails and park grounds but not on the beach.
History and name
The park honors Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth (1871–1941), a conservationist who developed the land as part of his Long Hill estate. After his death, his Rockfall Corporation gave 267 acres to the state, and the park was established in 1942. It now covers 285 acres across Middletown and Middlefield.
Nearby
Wadsworth Little Falls, on Wadsworth Brook in the same park, is about 0.4 mile away. Westfield Falls is about 3.9 miles away and Spruce Glen Falls about 5.3 miles. The rest of the park has 4.5 miles of trails for hiking and biking and fishing spots along the Coginchaug River.
Distances are straight-line.