Hamilton Falls is a 104-foot tiered waterfall on Cobb Brook in the Hamilton Falls Natural Area near Jamaica, Windham County, Vermont. It is popular for swimming and picnicking, but its pools are dangerous: more than twelve people have died there.
The falls
The World Waterfall Database, which surveyed the falls in person, measures four tiers of 6, 8, 62 and 28 feet. Cobb Brook runs over bedrock tilted up at about 50 degrees and has carved a chain of large potholes down the stepped ledges. The 62-foot third drop starts as a sliding horsetail, shoots off an undercut ledge and lands on a sharp rock below; the last tier splits into two channels. Earlier surveys listed 125 feet with an 80-foot main drop, while other estimates give 125 feet overall with a principal drop of 40 to 50 feet into a large pool.
Getting there
Visitors are directed to Jamaica State Park, where the hike follows the West River Trail and then the Switch Road Trail for 3 miles each way, 6 miles round trip. The West River section has mild grades; both approaches have steep, rocky stretches. A very small parking area on West Windham Road, next to the falls, is kept for visitors who can't manage the long hike.
Day entry at the park is $5 for ages 14 and up, $2 for ages 4 to 13 and free for younger children, and day-use hours run from 10 a.m. to sunset. The park is open through October 12, 2026. A separate master plan for the falls addresses erosion, safety, parking shortages and the impact of crowds on neighbors.
When to go
March through June brings the strongest flow. By midsummer the brook shrinks to a narrow rivulet down the rock, though it runs all year.
On site
Swimming here is considered very dangerous and is not recommended because of strong currents and slippery rock. The deaths have come from injuries while people were climbing into or out of the upper and middle pools. A metal ladder is bolted to the rock at one of the upper pools, directly above the dangerous 62-foot drop. Stay out of the pools and off the wet ledges.
Nearby
Wheeler Falls is about 2.6 miles away, Tollgate Falls on the Winhall River about 3.4 miles, and Pikes Falls on North Branch Brook about 5.2 miles. The West River Trail on the way in has river views at mild grades.
Distances are straight-line.