Bears Den Falls is a 12-foot waterfall on Middle Branch Swift River in Franklin County, Massachusetts, in the Northeastern Highlands region. It lies about 3.5 miles south of Orange and roughly 28.4 miles northeast of North Chicopee as the crow flies.
At 12 feet it is one of the lowest falls in the state’s records: of the 24 Massachusetts waterfalls with a documented height only 2 are shorter, while the typical Massachusetts waterfall stands around 50 feet. By form it is a segmented waterfall, splitting into two or more separate streams as it falls.
The Northeastern Highlands are the mountains of northern New England and the Adirondacks, with spruce-fir on the summits and northern hardwood forest of maple, beech and birch below, and countless lakes and boulder-strewn brooks. Fast mountain streams drop over granite and gneiss ledges in chains of falls and pools.
Franklin County holds 6 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Doane Falls, a 157-foot tiered waterfall, is about 9.7 miles away. Spirit Falls, a 157-foot tiered waterfall, is about 10.8 miles away. Turners Falls, a dam waterfall, is about 12.5 miles away.
Bears Den Falls is located at 42.5420° N, 72.3267° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.