Sanderson Brook Falls

Friday July 10, 2020

This is a nice easy day hike where the real attraction is the waterfall and the ability to take a dip. It includes some nice vistas of Berkshire hills at the beginning.

My partner and I decided to stop here to break up a four hour drive out to upstate New York and we couldn’t be happier that we stopped. The approach drive on the Mass Pike and and Jacob’s Ladder Scenic Byway (route 20) was gorgeous in the height of summer.

This could have been an easy one mile jaunt to the falls along a flat road, however my partner and I decided to make it into a bigger hike to include some elevation and scenic vistas. The hike itself started on Sanderson Brook Road, an unpaved wide path that is free of vehicles. We took a left on H. Newman Marsh Trail and immediately began a steep 700' ascent over a half-mile. The ascent had some subtle beauty but we were ready to get to the openings to see the vistas.

We turned left onto Memorial Trail where the flat trail brought us to our first and best view. There were some flat rock slabs good for sitting and I wish I would have brought my seat pad. This was followed by another, less open vista after about another third of a mile. I was expecting a third vista but didn’t come across it, maybe things open up more without any leaves.

In order to continue on our loop, we reached the end of Memorial Trail and ignored the sign to return to Sanderson Brook Road. Instead we stayed left on Mica Mine Rd. for 0.2 miles before turning right onto Observation Hill Rd. for 0.8 miles. Neither road had any visible signs. We turned right to descend via C.C. Ski Trail (unmarked) where some loose rocks posed a bit of hazard. Nothing after Memorial Trail was noteworthy other than the fact that our focus and energy was spent swatting away a variety of insects. Our enjoyment resumed once we reached water.

At the bottom of the skil trail we opted to continue on an unmarked trail in order to hike alongside Sanderson Brook. Turning right onto Sanderson Brook Road might have been the better option to reach the falls more quickly. The trail we took was difficult to follow, and not completely maintained (some agility was required). It did offer hiking alongside Sanderson Brook which was only a bit more than a trickle. After 0.3 miles on this trail we reached an excellent view of the upper falls. A tricky descent then brought us to the base. The falls make their way down an interesting rock formation and we were perplexed to see a family about three quarters of the way up the falls. We were happy to discover they were making their way out of some pools.

We climbed directly up the falls over the slippery rock. At one point I lost my footing and, luckily, only slid a few feet down. We made it to the pools and were ecstatic to plunge into the ~6 foot deep water to relax and wash off the sweat and dead bugs. We stayed in the lower of the two pools. A couple of gentlemen near us ventured up into another fall. There was plenty of room to share in the fun. We were there around noon on a Friday and would expect it to be a bit more crowded on a Saturday or Sunday. There might be a better way to reach the pools that doesn’t involve scrambling up the slippery rocks, and would encourage future visitors to try and seek it out, especially if coming during wet conditions.

We descended the falls, dried off and enjoyed the leisurely mile walk along the brook to the trailhead. Our fresh clothes awaited in the car and we stopped and enjoyed some satisfying grilled sandwiches and friendly service from Carm’s Restaurant before finishing our drive up to the Adirondacks.