E-Liberary Pakistan: Waterfalls of Western Maine

Many memorable paintings and photographs throughout history have centered on nature’s most daringly elegant feature – the waterfall. Western Maine’s terrain is enriched by the dramatic heights, lush surroundings, and thunderous roar that accompany this unique natural attraction.
For the photographer looking to enrich a portfolio of nature scenes, the hiker seeking a challenging trek to the pinnacle of beautiful views, or simply a passerby seeking inspiration from nature’s treasures, the mountains of Maine hold magnificent waterfalls for every quest.

Angel Falls

Town: Township D
Rating: 5
Type: plunge
Height: 90 feet
Source: Mountain Brook
Trail Length: 0.8 mile to the falls
Trail Difficulty: easy side of moderate
Altitude Gain: down 50 feet, up 150 feet
Hiking Time: 30 minutes

With surrounding cliffs of up to 115 feet, Angel Falls is remarkably scenic. The 25-foot gap positioned on the top of the cliff wall can be explained by two theories, the first being erosion. Through the years it appears as if the water sliced its way through the cliff walls, causing the sediments to flow downstream. The other theory suggests that the perfectly sized boulder at the base of the waterfall used to sit in the gap above. Perhaps it was knocked out during the Ice Age or even by a great storm. We cannot say which theory is correct, but the gap on the cliff wall through which the water flows certainly distinguishes Angel Falls from all others in the region.

Bickford Slide

Town: Stow
Rating: 3
Type: cascades and slides
Height: varies
Source: Bickford Brook
Trail Length: to lower slide, 0.7 mile; to upper slide, 1.1 mile
Trail Difficulty: moderate
Altitude Gain: to lower slide, +300 feet; to upper slide, +500 feet
Hiking Time: 35 minutes to the upper slide

Hidden in a deep ravine between Blueberry Mountain and Sugarloaf Mountain, Bickford Brook travels downstream towards its confluence with the Cold River. Along the way, hundreds of feet of cascades and slides adorn the brook, most accessible by a few popular hiking trails.

The first slides of the trail, appropriately named Lower Slides, are reached just after your first contract with the brook. These slides are about 50 feet in height and composed of cascades, slides, and delightful water chutes. Forget about exploring the Lower Slides: the flume walls are very dangerous.

A 40-foot-tall, medium-angled slide with a dark, moderately attractive pool encompasses the Upper Bickford Slides. Set in a heavily shaded glen, the Upper Slides have very low water throughout most of the year. Although the area is remote and access can be confusing, the pool, with its depths up to 5 feet, receives moderate use. We saw a troop of about a dozen towel-holding children being led by their guide to the swimming hole when we visited midweek toward the end of June.

The Cataracts

Town: Andover West Surplus
Rating: 3
Type: horsetails and cascades
Height: approximately 60-foot total drop
Source: Frye Brook
Trail Length: 0.5 mile
Trail Difficulty: moderate
Altitude Gain: plus 150 feet
Hiking Time: 20 minutes

On our summer visits, The Cataracts consisted of many plunges dropping an estimated 60 feet. We have heard accounts, and seen some convincing pictures, that in the wet season this is a behemoth of raging cascades. When we visited, we only saw some lonely cascades and plunges. On a positive note, with the cascades gone we were able to explore the small caves near the waterfall between precipitous gorge walls.

During the summer, The Cataracts were also a scramble's delight, with opportunities for hours of exploration. The many swimming holes are also refreshingly pleasing here. Perhaps your visit will reveal the personality of The Cataracts we have heard about.

Dunn Falls

Town: Andover North Surplus
Rating: 5
Type: horsetails and fans
Height: lower falls is 80 feet; upper falls is 50 feet
Source: West Branch Ellis River
Trail Length: 2.0 mile loop
Trail Difficulty: moderate
Altitude Gain: up 250 feet, down 250 feet
Hiking Time: 90 minutes

The 2-mile loop trail that surrounds Dunn Falls offers more than just one of the highest-rated waterfalls in Maine. As you hike along you will find swimming holes, travel a stretch of the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail, and discover lower and upper Dunn Falls as well as a half a dozen smaller, unnamed cascades. With so many natural features, we would have to say that a trip to Dunn Falls is sure to leave a lasting impression on everyone. For this reason, this 2.0-mile trail makes a great introduction to the world of the outdoors for anyone not too familiar with what the region has to offer.

Discovering the remote lower Dunn Falls is as surprising as finding any waterfall in Maine. Before you reach the side trail to view Dunn Falls, only miniature horsetails and cascades will be spotted. How shocking and mind-boggling the nearly vertical 80-foot drop of lower Dunn Falls is to the virgin eye! With rock walls up to 100 feet in height on opposite sides of the falls, the area is outstandingly scenic. Take your camera for this waterfall.

After visiting the lower falls, you may feel that the trip could not get any better. Wrong! As if the lower falls are not visually appealing and mentally satisfying enough, more gems lie ahead on the trail. Just before the upper falls lay two lovely rocky-bottomed pools, each with small falls cascading into it. The first pool, about 80 feet in circumference, is surrounded by semicircular rock walls, with the waterfall flowing through a gap in the wall. The second pool has a similar structure and almost equal dimensions, but behind the pool lays a 50-foot secret: the elusive upper falls. Although half-hidden by the forest, this fanning horsetail is beautiful and adds a perfect ending to the waterfalls on this trip.

Ellis Falls

Town: Andover
Rating: 3
Type: horsetails
Height: 22-foot total drop
Source: Ellis Meadow Brook
Trail Length: roadside
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: none
Hiking Time: none

Minutes away from the spectacular falls of Grafton Notch State Park, and the cataracts off East B Hill Road, Ellis Falls can be either the appetizer or the dessert for your waterfall day trip. Its location, just over 2 miles east of Andover, is likely to be central to the other natural attractions found in your plans for the day.

At the top of the falls is a 5-foot-tall, 5-foot-wide block falling into an oblong-shaped pool. From here the falls horsetail and cascade the additional 17 feet into a dark-tea colored pool below. The river, which was very flat both up and downstream, surprised us with a drop of this magnitude.

Not nearly as scenic as nearby Dunn Falls, and certainly not world class in beauty like nearby Angel Falls, Ellis Falls is outclassed by the local competition. Waterfall enthusiasts, however, should not shun Ellis Falls for its more impressive neighbors. This waterfall is in a covert location--only noticed if you have specific directions and you are looking for it. The parking area is a simple pull-off--the type every road has a dozen of. For this reason, we suggest checking out the falls.

Kezar Falls

Town: Lovell
Rating: 2.5
Type: cascades
Height: 20-foot total drop
Source: Kezar River
Trail Length: less than 0.1 mile
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: down 25 feet
Hiking Time: none

Lying a few miles southeast of the White Mountain National Forest border, Kezar Falls is an unmarked local picnic spot with a modest-sized gorge and a few small waterfalls. The site used to be a swimming hole, but many fallen trees have long since made jumping off the gorge walls a dangerous activity. Kezar Falls is not really anything out of the ordinary, but it makes a fine place to read, picnic, or simply relax. Locals told us that this is a favorite party spot for young adults during the late hours of the day.

Mad River Falls

Town: Batchelders Grant
Rating: 2.5
Type: horsetails
Height: 100-foot total drop
Source: Mad River
Trail Length: 1.6 miles to the falls
Trail Difficulty: moderate
Altitude Gain: plus 300 feet
Hiking Time: 45 minutes

From the overlook opposite the falls, you notice that Mad River Falls consists of several horsetails falling into a yellow-tinted pool. Aside from admiring the 100-foot total drop of the falls, there is not much to do here. Exploring is extremely limited, as it would be dangerous to get closer to the falls, and photography is not an option because the falls lie under a heavy tree cover.

To justify a trip to Mad River Falls, add Bickford Slides, another waterfall accessed via a trail from Brickett Place, and Rattlesnake Flume and Pool, a waterfall and swimming hole off the Stone House Trail.

Poplar Stream Falls

Town: Carrabassett Valley
Rating: 2.5
Type: horsetails
Height: upper falls is 24 feet; lower falls is 51 feet
Source: Poplar Stream and South Brook
Trail Length: 2.0 miles
Trail Difficulty: to upper falls, easy side of moderate; to lower falls, moderate side of difficult
Altitude Gain: plus 250 feet
Hiking Time: 60 minutes

Poplar Stream Falls is located in Carrabassett Valley, a town famous for its ski resort, Sugarloaf USA. The falls lie a few miles east of the resort, accessible by a rough dirt road and a hike through a logging area. They can be accessed by high-clearance vehicles, mountain bicycles, cross-country skis, or hiking.

So remote that nearby residents may not be aware of its existence, Poplar Stream Falls consists of two drops, on two different streams, that are combined under one name. The upper formation, a 24-foot horsetail with a swimming pool below, is on Poplar Stream and just off the trail. The lower drop, a 51-foot horsetail on South Brook, is accessible only by a fairly strenuous amount of bushwhacking.

The swimming hole below the falls lacks the attractiveness of other swimming holes nearby. Although you are likely to enjoy the chilly mountain waters privately, two other swimming holes offer warmer water, more sun exposure, and a general better experience. One is nearby Smalls Falls, which is described elsewhere in this guide, and another hole is located just below the bridge over the Carrabassett River on Carriage Road--the road that you traveled on to reach the falls.

Rumford Falls

Town: Rumford
Rating: 2.5
Type: cascades
Height: 176-foot total drop
Source: Androscoggin River
Trail Length: roadside
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: none
Hiking Time: none
Alt. Names: Pennacook Falls, New Pennacook Falls

Originally referred to as Pennacook Falls or New Pennacook Falls, Rumford Falls is chain of massive drops of the Androscoggin River. Although the waterfall drops a total of 176 feet, dams have split the once continuous cascading waters into several distinct sections. Noting this, we questioned whether or not to include this waterfall.

The beauty of the scenic upper falls ensured it a spot in this guide. Worthy of drawing the attention of any form of artist, Rumford Falls is quite spectacular in strength and setting. The adjacent dam is slowly being concealed by the continuous growth of the trees in front of the structure. The artificial lake below offers popular fishing for three species of trout and landlocked salmon. The best view of this area is after snowmelt as the water flow often slowly reduces during the summer months.

Screw Auger Falls

Town: Grafton Township
Rating: 4.5
Type: plunges and cascades
Height: plunge is 20 feet
Source: Bear River
Trail Length: less than 0.1 mile
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: none
Hiking Time: none

One of two Grafton Notch waterfalls described in this guide, Screw Auger Falls--not to be confused with the Screw Auger Falls of Gulf Hagas Brook, also located in Maine--is a 20-foot plunge over the lip of a broad granite ledge into a gorge. Created by the plunge is a transparent curtain of whitewater. Below the main plunge, the Bear River travels through a curvaceous gorge, dropping an additional 30 feet in a series of cascades past giant potholes, shallow pools, and grottoes.

This waterfall is arguably Maine's most heavily visited. On a hot day in early July, we shared the falls and gorge with approximately 100 others. Although the waterfall is far from remote, the countless sunny ledges and sunbathing spots, together with the ability to explore above and below the gorge, will allow you to enjoy this site immensely.

There are several picnic tables, bathrooms, and a large parking area at the site that is known to fill up on hot sunny days in midsummer. As of 2002 the area is open daily 9 AM-sunset, allowing plenty of time to visit.

Smalls Falls

Town: Township E
Rating: 5
Type: horsetails and cascades
Height: 54-foot total drop
Source: Sandy River
Trail Length: 0.1 mile to the top of the falls
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: plus 50 feet
Hiking Time: 5 minutes

Just south of the town of Rangeley, the “Smalls Falls Rest Area” attracts more than just travelers looking for a driving break. Smalls Falls, with its scenic waterfall, colorful gorge, and fine swimming holes, accommodates all.
It does not take much water flow to make this waterfall impressive enough to please all its visitors. Just a tiny stream can create a false sense of whitewater power. This is attributable to the fact that the river upstream is considerably wider than the width of water that flows over the four sets of falls at Smalls Falls.

Snow Falls

Town: West Paris
Rating: 3.5
Type: small plunge and cascades
Height: 25-foot total drop
Source: Little Androscoggin River
Trail Length: roadside
Trail Difficulty: easy
Altitude Gain: none
Hiking Time: none

The Little Androscoggin River cuts its way through a narrow gorge at Snow Falls in West Paris. At this special rest stop, the state of Maine has constructed a fine picnic area complete with trails on both sides of the gorge, picnic tables, rest rooms, and plenty of parking.