While western New England may not have access to the ocean, it more than makes up it for in the many rivers and waterfalls throughout the region. Sometimes you just have to know where to find them.
Connecting Point’s Brian Sullivan went off the beaten path to visit some cascades in the quiet and rural Berkshires town of New Marlborough. While there, he discovered that this very wet and rainy summer has only made them that much more glorious!
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Zydalis Bauer, Connecting Point: While western New England may not have access to the ocean, it more than makes up for it in the many rivers and waterfalls throughout the region. Sometimes you just have to know where to find them.
Connecting Point’s Brian Sullivan went off the beaten path to visit some cascades in the quiet and rural Berkshires town of New Marlborough, and discovered that this very wet and rainy summer has only made them that much more glorious.
Brian Sullivan: This rushing water may be one of the few silver linings to all of the rain we’ve had so far this summer, especially for fans of flowing cascades like these here. Normally, the season for heavy waterfalls wraps up in late spring. But now, that season has been extended to the mid-to-late summer months and I personally couldn’t be happier.
My quest to locate the finest torrents in New England has brought me to this quiet southern Berkshire town of New Marlborough. The somewhat difficult to find location is known Umpachene Falls. And according to the unofficial guide that I met on my arrival, the locals here would prefer that this gem maintain its hidden status.
Roger Tilles, New Marlborough, MA: I don’t really want you to make this into one of the greatest places in the state. When I came here, I’d never heard of it 25 years ago, and it’s wonderful as a place of repose.
You can I come here often just to sit next to the falls, because there it’s a peaceful place.
Brian Sullivan: It’s a place where local artists like Shelley Haven and others do their part to capture the essence of that peacefulness with their chalk etchings. The falls they’re looking at are at the tail end of the Umpachene River, which drains off into the Konkapot River, as seen here from the picnic area of the park. This eventually feeds into the Housatonic.
From this relatively small residents-only parking area, visitors have quick and easy access from the park to either the dirt path along the falls or the rocks.
I chose the rocks, and as the rumble of the water quickly turned to a roar the closer I got, I was amazed at how easily accessible everything was here.
Of all of the falls that have been in the past couple of years, this place seems to be the most user-friendly because there’s so much space to walk along the waterway and there are so many different pools that they actually recommend people use. So, I’ll probably have to dive into one of them before I get out of here.
The walkway in the woods was less a constructed path, and more the result of countless feet passing over it for decades. And that’s just fine, because it offers a nice vantage point of the rapids, while occasionally getting a glimpse of some local inhabitants going about their business.
Eventually, this polar bear found his way under this 10-foot drop of sheets of water coming down at near firehose-intensity. And it turns out, I wasn’t the only one experiencing these waters for the first time today.
Giancarlo Portale, Greenwhich, CT: I was — I have some friends up in Hillsdale, it’s about a half an hour away from here, and I just skipped out from work and a little hooky.
And I was like, “we’re going to go for a swim,” and they’re like “you got to go there.” If the water’s right, it’ll be a good going to the waterfalls. But little did I know to expect that.
Brian Sullivan: Ideally, this five-acre park is for town residents and their guests only. But if given permission, with the promise of leaving the park the way we found it, out of town first timers like myself are allowed in.
Now, I can’t recommend that anyone else walk barefoot through the water over these rocks, particularly with camera equipment. But since I didn’t pack proper footwear, I did what I had to do to visually capture these glorious rapids while the water was running so unusually high.
As mentioned earlier, this is the back-end of the roughly eight-and-a-half mile Umpachene River, a waterway named for the Housatonic Indian chief who once fished these waters in the seventeen hundreds. And, while that kind of historical information may not appeal to the kids for some adults, it’s just what they want to hear.
Michael Colligan, Waterbury, CT: I was a history teacher for 46 years and this place is also enticing for me because of the Indian legends associated with the falls.
So, it’s for me, it’s a win-win situation. I got history, I got a peaceful spot, and time with my grandkids.
Brian Sullivan: What I found surprising was that, according to the New England Waterfall’s Web site, Umpachene Falls only received a three out of five stars rating.
Now, I’m not sure what the criteria are, but I can think of at least two first time visitors who would add a couple more stars to that rating.
Giancarlo Portale: I would recommend this place a thousand times. It’s — I mean, it’s so much more than expected. It’s so easy to get to, the is amazingly accessible, and it’s a little slippery. It’s just a beautiful quiet spot.
