Cheever Falls

Take US Highway 2 to West Danville, then turn north onto VT 15 and continue 3.8 miles to the town of Walden. In Walden where VT 15 veers to the west, turn north onto Noyestar Road and continue another 2.3 miles to Hines Place Trail (which is a road). Turn right onto Hines Place Trail, and proceed another half mile to where a rustic sign nailed to a tree marks the Cheever Falls Trail. The trail follows an old decomissioned road for the majority of the way to the falls, which is encountered 0.7 mile from the parking area. The trail ends at the top of the falls, reaching the base will require scrambling down steeper user paths.Cheever Falls is a fairly scenic two-stepped fall situated in a deep wooded glade along Steam Mill Brook in Walden. The falls drop approximately 30 feet over back-to-back ledges, each step falling about 15 feet (we measured the falls when we surveyed the site in October 2015, but have since misplaced our data). The upper tier is split into two channels which merge mid-fall as they cascade down the underlying stratified ledges which protrude out from the cliff face. The lower tier likewise separates into two channels, but this time spread much further apart to the point where viewing the two sections congruently becomes a bit more difficult, at least when the volume of water in Steam Mill Brook is lower in the summer and autumn months. During periods of lower flow, the lefthand segment of the lower tier will likely dry out entirely. During periods of heavier flow, both ledges will likely be overwhelmed and transform the falls into more of a traditional fountain-like stair-step formation. Steam Mill Brook drains from a basin covering about eight square miles upstream from Cheever Falls, and includes multiple bodies of standing water - Coles Pond, Stannard Pond, and four smaller unnamed ponds or bogs which will contribute to regulating the flow of the brook all year long. Barring an extreme drought situation, Steam Mill Brook won't likely be reduced to the point where the falls run dry, and should retain a healthy to strong flow throughout the wet season.