Beside a highway rest area on Maine Route 4 in Township E, Franklin County, Maine, Smalls Falls drops 66 feet across a chain of six stepped cascades and pools on the Sandy River. A footbridge a few dozen yards from the parking lot provides an immediate view looking up at the lower drops.
The falls
The World Waterfall Database surveyed the cascade in person in October 2023, documenting six drops of 6, 7, 14, 22, 14 and 3 feet for a 66-foot total. The water pours over steeply tilted beds of black schist with thin brown quartzite layers, rock dated to between 423 and 391 million years old. Most of the flow originates in the Sandy River Ponds upstream, with a downstream gauge recording median flow of about 15 cubic feet per second that remains fairly consistent through much of the year. Chandler Mill Stream joins the Sandy River just below.
Getting there
The falls sit at a rest area on Maine Route 4, northwest of Phillips. Maine DOT owns and maintains the rest area, which features parking, pit toilets and picnic tables surrounded by state-owned woodland. Admission is free. A footbridge near the lot faces the three lower tiers; a short trail climbs along bedrock at the edge of the gorge to the top, while informal paths upstream reach views of the three upper tiers. Fences guard parts of the rock walls.
When to go
Spring snowmelt swells the river considerably, and because the flow is pond-fed it holds up through much of the year; an October survey found ample water. May to October is the main visiting season. In April 2026 the falls hosted an extreme kayak race.
On site
State property guides note a swimming hole at the rest area, with natural pools between the drops and a rocky shore below the lowest tier leading to a shallow pool. Cliff jumping here is considered highly dangerous. In May 2022 a 29-year-old woman in a pool above the falls stumbled, fell about 30 feet and drowned in recirculating water at the base; her companion had to drive away to find cell service. Visitors should stay back from the lips of the upper pools. Dogs are allowed, and visitors are asked to clean up after pets.
Nearby
Chandler Mill Falls on Chandler Mill Stream is about 0.1 mile away, close enough to add to the same stop. Cascade Stream Gorge is about 6.4 miles away and Phillips Falls, further down the Sandy River, about 8.9 miles.
Distances are straight-line.