Chapel Brook, Massachusetts, United States

4CTRiverGolfer 5:00 PM Mar 21, 2016

The mysteries of the forest, highly explorable
Chapel Brook Falls, a series of semi-major and semi-minor plunges, reveals itself only a couple of hundred yards from a country lane. There's parking on the side of the street and a trail that dips down to the falls on the other side of the road. It's a very lovely sight, to see the water spilling forth from under the road, through a large culvert and across its rapidly descending riverbed. The trail, which originally appeared to be a prosaic, graded horse path, veers into to the woods for close-up views of the plummeting water. Particularly lovely in spring when the winter snows are giving the brook some heft and the trees have yet to blossom, allowing for greater depth of viewing. And it's very easy to see the stream plunge from a lateral perspective, providing some unusual waterfall-viewing angles. Don't think the show is over, however, once the brook flattens out. The trail beckons you to continue on -- and you should. Once the forest floor has leveled out some more you'll come to a couple of unvarnished wooden bridges. There are two spans, because another brook has made the scene! Always fun to see the point where two streams converge and this juncture is extremely easy to detect. I only followed the secondary stream from here, up into the hills for awhile, until the path seemed intent on diverging from the rushing waters for good. It's an eminently hikeable path, with little, slatted platforms with good suspension in place in areas that tend to pool up. If you continue following Chapel Brook past the confluence, there is said to be remnants of the foundation of a mill which occupied the land in the early 19th century. Alas, I saw no evidence of this myself, but might not have ventured far enough to see it. There is also hiking to be done on the other side of the road (where you parked). The trail inclines precipitously upon leaving the parking area and I believe heads up to an exposed bluff. Sounds like a hike for a different day. You'll have your feet full with exploring the lower section as you trace the waterfalls!

4jennifer w 5:00 PM Aug 19, 2016

Beautiful
Falls are gorgeous. If you are going to slide and play in the pools, be sure to check for leaches. Several were found in the water. Luckily none were attached.