Mount Everett State Reservation

July 17, 2020 Cloudy

Mount Everett State Reservation is in the far southwest corner of the state in the towns of Mount Washington and Sheffield. The mountain itself is 2,624 feet tall and offers views into Connecticut and New York. The Appalachian Trail also crosses the reservation here.

It was clear that some of the hikers we encountered were geared up for some camping, with plenty of water and supplies.

We decided to just go part way up the mountain to visit Race Brook Falls, a series of waterfalls on the side of the mountain. The trail starts out pretty flat in some deep woods.

At the first main intersection we took the trail leading to Lower Falls (0.3 miles distance on a moderate trail).

The water flow was very light, despite some recent storms that had passed through the area (but apparently not right here). We scrambled around a bit on the rocks at the base. Then instead of backtracking, we took a steep shortcut up the left side of the waterfall to reach the top of the Lower Falls.

It was the dry season, so not muddy or slippery, but it could be difficult if the trail’s wet.

Stopping here to rest, we found a great view of the Berkshires and a few big frogs on the mossy rocks. We water was very clear and cold.

Now we joined the main trail and made our way to the Upper Falls but there was still very little water. But the Upper Falls looked pretty dramatic from the base.

At this point, we continued on a trail that was a steep climb to a ledge for a good view of the mountains and then continued to the top of the Upper Falls.

We followed the brook on a level path away from the waterfall toward the campsites. After reaching that area, we turned back and stayed near the waterfall for a rest. The kids explored and played in the brook, then we crossed the bridge and descended the trail.

This time, we took the blazed path that skirts around the waterfalls and eventually returns to the brook, leading down toward the start of the trail.

The waterfall was “low flow” but still scenic and dramatic. Although this state park is somewhat remote, this corner of the state offers a peaceful retreat and some quaint little towns to check out.

Although there wasn’t much water flowing, the falls were scenic and hiking alongside the waterfall was new and challenging.
Waterfall is dry. A disappointment. Hiking up the waterfall is pretty exciting.
This was like the third time we hiked up a mountain only to find no water. Very disappointing!
There was barely any water on the waterfall!! what an outrage!!
We were climbing up the mountain and it seemed really long but it was just a mile and we could jump on rocks and that was super fun and there were frogs.