Waterfalls in Massachusetts

Where Massachusetts's waterfalls run, from Berkshire gorges to old mill rivers

A seam of ancient metamorphic rock underlies the Berkshire Hills in the far west of Massachusetts, and it is there, where brooks drop off schist and gneiss ledges into narrow, glacier-cut gorges, that most of the state's 37 named waterfalls cluster. Farther east, granite uplands around Royalston and Ashfield carry a second, smaller group of falls, and two of the Connecticut River's old natural cataracts survive only as bedrock rapids beside nineteenth-century dams.

Where the waterfalls are

Berkshire County holds 17 of the state's 37 listings, by far the deepest concentration, running from Bash Bish Falls near the New York line to Wahconah Falls above Dalton and Campbell Falls on the Connecticut state line. East of the Berkshires, the hilltowns of Hampshire County carry falls on the same bedrock, including Glendale Falls in Middlefield.

North-central Massachusetts spans Franklin County and Worcester County, granite upland country where Royalston alone holds several Trustees-run cascades and Ashfield's Chapel Brook reservation adds another. The Connecticut River Valley crosses Hampden County and Franklin County, where old rapids at Holyoke and Turners Falls were dammed for mills in the 1800s and no longer run free. Middlesex County, in the eastern lowlands, holds a pair of small falls, including Trap Falls in Willard Brook State Forest.

Waterfalls worth the trip

• Bash Bish Falls, 210 feet in seven tiered steps that split around a boulder on the last drop, is billed by the state park as the tallest in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts-side trail is short and steep, rated difficult, while an easier trail climbs from the New York side.
• Doane Falls, 145 feet in six tiered drops on Lawrence Brook, is a free Trustees reservation in Royalston reached by a half-mile trail from Athol Road. Spirit Falls, 87 feet through a steep ravine nearby, needs a 0.75-mile walk and then a steep, unmarked descent; the two are linked by the 22-mile Tully Trail.
• Glendale Falls, 126 feet down what the Trustees call one of the state's longest waterfall runs, is a quarter-mile walk from a small Trustees lot in Middlefield.
• Tannery Falls, 81 feet in two tiers with a pothole between them, is a half-mile round trip on blue blazes and wooden steps in Savoy Mountain State Forest.
• Chapel Falls, 55 feet over three granite steps on Chapel Brook, is a short walk from Trustees parking off Williamsburg Road in Ashfield.
• Race Brook Falls, 67 feet in three drops, is a day hike from the Route 41 trailhead toward Mount Race and the Appalachian Trail.
• Umpachene Falls, a 27-foot cascade on the Umpachene River, sits inside a free town park in New Marlborough with a swimming area in the river below, open only to town residents and their guests.

When to go

Spring snowmelt drives the strongest flow at nearly every fall here; Race Brook Falls and Bash Bish Falls can both shrink to a trickle in a summer drought. Doane Falls runs all year, noticeably fuller in April than in October. The stone steps at Tannery Falls can ice over in late November and December, and Spirit Falls carries only a small trickle by midsummer.

Parking, access and closures

None of these properties charges a general day-use parking fee: Bash Bish Falls State Park, Mount Everett State Reservation and Savoy Mountain State Forest are free, and the Trustees of Reservations charge no admission at Doane Falls, Spirit Falls, Chapel Falls or Glendale Falls. Umpachene Falls Park is free but limited to New Marlborough residents and their guests. Bash Bish Falls' Massachusetts entrance has closed for construction more than once in recent years, for a rebuilt viewing area in 2024 and for erosion and drainage repairs into June 2025, so check the park page before a visit. Swimming and diving are banned at Doane Falls, which the Trustees warn have led to fatalities and serious injuries, and swimming is also prohibited at Tannery Falls.

Safety

Bash Bish Falls has a long history of fatal falls: three people died there in the 1960s and a man was killed in a fall in 2018; the state has fenced the rebuilt viewing area and blocked the stairs to the pools since 2022. A hiker fell about 35 feet to his death at Race Brook Falls in 2013. Stay on marked trails and out of the water below any of these falls, especially during spring runoff, when flows rise fast.