Bemis Brook Falls

Bemis Brook Falls is accessed from the Arethusa Falls trailhead, which is well signed along Route 302 in Crawford Notch State Park, about halfway between Bartlett and Gates of the Notch. To reach Bemis Brook Falls, find the Bemis Brook Trail which branches left from the Arethusa Falls Trail about 0.2 mile from the parking lot, then follows Bemis Brook past Fawn Pool and Coliseum Falls to where Bemis Brook Falls can be seen. Continuing along this path will find it rejoining the Arethusa Falls Trail at the 0.7 mile mark.Though Arethusa Falls draws the majority of attention along Bemis Brook, there are two smaller waterfalls which can be accessed in route to (or from) the much larger attraction. Bemis Brook Falls is the middle falls along its namesake stream, and the larger of the two additional waterfalls below Arethusa. The falls are composed of four individual stair-steps which drop consecutively for a total of about 30 feet. The fourth and largest of the tiers is separated a bit further from the other three drops, and as such is a bit more difficult to photograph but the trailside vistas of the falls allow easy viewing of the whole series of falls.
Despite the relatively small drainage area of Bemis Brook, Bemis Brook Falls is a fairly consistent waterfall. The stream flow does drop noticeably from the spring freshet to the autumn months, but because the stream is much more constricted here than at Arethusa Falls, even when the flow of the stream is low during the late summer months the falls will appear quite respectable (modest stature aside).