Trap Falls splits into segmented channels on a 15-foot drop on Trapfall Brook, in Willard Brook State Forest, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
The falls
Fractured granite splits Trapfall Brook into three channels that plunge over boulders in a segmented drop. A field survey puts the total height at 15 feet; the state forest's own draft management plan gives a similar 15 to 20 feet, and older data list a shorter 12-foot drop. The six-square-mile drainage keeps the brook flowing year-round, and snowmelt can merge the separate channels into one.
Getting there
Massachusetts DCR manages Willard Brook State Forest, open from sunrise to sunset, with parking on site. A small gravel lot sits on Route 119, from which a roughly 0.7-mile walk leads past several viewpoints to a footbridge below the falls. There is no day-use fee or reservation for this area.
On site
The trail's several viewpoints and the footbridge give views of the falls; the area's bathroom is permanently closed. Dogs must stay leashed, and alcohol and littering are prohibited.
History and name
Civilian Conservation Corps crews built a revetment wall and grills downstream that still survive, though the grills are no longer in use.
Nearby
Falls, The, a cascade waterfall, is about 4.4 miles away across the state line in New Hampshire. Greenville Gorge, on the Souhegan River, is about 6.9 miles, and Batchelder Falls, on King Brook, about 8.6 miles.
Distances are straight-line.