One rock splits this Massachusetts waterfall in two, and the gorge around it is ancient

It’s sacred, forked, and surrounded by old growth

Bash Bish Brook drops about 60 feet into a clear emerald pool in the far southwestern corner of Massachusetts.

A jutting rock splits the water into two parallel streams right before the plunge, giving the falls a forked shape you won’t find anywhere else in the state.

The full run of cascades stretches roughly 200 feet through a narrow gorge in the town of Mount Washington, Berkshire County’s smallest community. The waterfall is just the starting point.

The forest around it goes back to the ice age, and the trails lead into three states.

Named for a Mohican woman who vanished over the edge

The falls carry the name of a woman from Mohican oral tradition.

According to the story, Bash Bish was sent over the falls as punishment, but no one ever found her body.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation recognizes the site as sacred to the Mohican and Scaghticoke peoples. By the 1800s, the place drew writers like Herman Melville and Henry David Thoreau.

Hudson River School painter John Frederick Kensett put the falls on canvas in an 1855 oil painting.

Two trails from two states lead to the same waterfall

You can reach Bash Bish Falls from either Massachusetts or New York. The Massachusetts trail starts from the Falls Road parking lot and runs about 0.6 miles round trip.

It drops steeply through hemlock forest and earns a difficult rating.

The New York trail begins at Taconic State Park in Copake Falls, covering about 1.5 miles round trip at a moderate grade along the brook.

During the current 2026 DCR closure, you get to the viewing area through the New York side, so check DCR advisories before you go.

No swimming, no drones, and only 24 parking spots

The park normally opens at sunrise and closes at sunset year-round, but you should check DCR advisories for any temporary changes before heading out.

On the Massachusetts side, parking is free but limited to 24 cars, and those spots fill fast on weekends.

The stairs to the base of the falls have been permanently closed for safety, so you view the cascade from a designated overlook above. Swimming, diving, rock climbing, and drones are all off-limits.

Leashed dogs can join you on the trails.

Black bears and bobcats roam a gorge carved by glaciers

The forest around the falls sits inside a hemlock-hardwood ravine that glaciers carved during the last ice age.

Maple, oak, and beech trees fill the surrounding slopes, and patches of old-growth forest still stand in the park and neighboring preserved lands.

Black bears, bobcats, porcupines, peregrine falcons, and timber rattlesnakes all live in the area.

If you come in spring or summer, birdsong fills the canopy overhead, and the trails pull in birdwatchers from across the region.

Over 10,000 acres of protected land connect at the border

Bash Bish Falls State Park links directly to the 4,000-plus-acre Mount Washington State Forest. Cross into New York and you hit Taconic State Park, which adds more than 6,000 acres.

Together, the three parks form a wide stretch of unbroken wild land straddling the state line.

Mount Washington State Forest alone has about 30 miles of trails, including sections of the South Taconic Trail, a ridgeline path running more than 15 miles along the border. The Appalachian Trail also passes through nearby.

Alander Mountain opens up to a grassy summit at 2,250 feet

Most peaks in this part of the Berkshires are covered in trees. Alander Mountain is different.

The summit levels off into an open, grassy plateau at about 2,250 feet, so nothing blocks your view in any direction.

On a clear day, you can look across the Hudson Valley, into the Berkshires, and as far as the Catskills.

The hike from Mount Washington State Forest headquarters covers about six miles round trip and earns a difficult rating, so give yourself a full morning or afternoon.

Three states from one peak on Mount Everett

Mount Everett stands at 2,624 feet, making it one of the tallest peaks in the southern Taconics.

Wind and weather have shaped the summit into an unusual landscape of dwarf pitch pine and scrub oak instead of tall forest. From the top, you can see into Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut all at once.

Partway up the mountain, Guilder Pond sits as one of the highest natural bodies of water in Massachusetts. Old-growth hemlock surrounds it, and you can kayak or fish there, but swimming is not allowed.

A 19th-century iron works still stands across the border

Just over the New York line in Taconic State Park, the Copake Iron Works Historic District sits along Bash Bish Brook. The iron works started up in 1845 and ran until 1903.

Today, it stands as one of the most complete preserved rural iron works in the northeastern United States.

The site landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and became a Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Site in 2016.

You can walk through a blast furnace, a machine shop, workers’ houses, and a Gothic Revival church from 1852.

Swim in a flooded ore pit and bike a rail trail

Taconic State Park on the New York side gives you cabin rentals, including “Bash Bish” and “Ironworkers” cabins that sleep four to six people.

Ore Pit Pond, a flooded former iron ore mine, serves as the swimming area when lifeguards are on duty. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a paved path for biking and walking, runs right through the park area.

Day visitors can picnic at pavilions and use the facilities year-round. The park also has fishing spots and hiking trails beyond the Bash Bish Falls route.

Mid-October turns the gorge into a corridor of gold and red

The southern Berkshires rank among New England’s top spots for fall color, and Bash Bish Falls hits peak foliage around mid-October.

Hemlock, maple, and beech trees on both sides of the gorge turn shades of gold, red, and orange, and the narrow trail runs right through the middle of it all.

Early spring is worth a trip too, when snowmelt pushes the brook to its strongest flow and the falls thunder louder than any other time of year.

A short walk to a tall waterfall in deep wilderness

A towering waterfall, old-growth forest, and a deep gorge all within a short hike is hard to find anywhere in New England. Bash Bish Falls gives you exactly that.

The park sits in a cluster of preserved lands in this corner of Massachusetts, and its remote location in Mount Washington adds to the feeling of being far from everything.

Wear sturdy footwear, because the trails get rocky and slippery, especially after rain. You earn every step.

Visit Bash Bish Falls State Park in Massachusetts

You can find Bash Bish Falls State Park on Falls Road in Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The park normally opens sunrise to sunset year-round.

Massachusetts-side parking is free but limited to 24 spots, and it fills quickly on busy days. You can also reach the falls from Taconic State Park off Route 344 in Copake Falls, New York.

Portable restrooms are available on the Massachusetts side from May through mid-October. Swimming, diving, and rock climbing are prohibited, but leashed dogs are welcome on the trails.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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