Name of Waterfall

Dianas Baths

Description

From Route 16 in the center of North Conway, take River Road west across the valley of the Saco River. River Road becomes West Side Road, and about 2.3 miles from Route 16 in North Conway the Diana's Baths trailhead will be encountered on the left (west), marked by a large National Forest Service sign. The well graded trail runs from the parking area for about 0.6 mile to the bottom of the falls, and then continues up alongside the various cascades and pools.Diana's Baths is a surprisingly extensive series of small falls and cascades along Lucy Brook found just outside of Conway. The falls occur over a 400-foot long run of the stream where it descends broad granite ledges interspersed with small pools perfect for swimming on hot summer days (and on hot summer days expect there to be a lot of bathers present).
There are about eight distinct tiers to the falls, ranging in height from 2-3 feet to 20 feet at the tallest. Approaching the falls from downstream, the first two small tiers of about 6-8 feet each will be observed adjacent to a former mill site, the foundation of which is quite obvious just off the main trail. The third drop up from the bottom is the second-largest, where the stream splits into two streams and veils about 15 feet over an undercut ledge. The next fall up sees the stream split into three exceptionally scenic spouts and drop about 8 feet into a natural trough. The next major step up is the largest in the series, where the stream again channels into three to four (depending on the flow) distinct channels and falls another 20 feet. The remaining portion of the total height is made up in small slides above here.
Beyond the top of the falls lies the intake for a public water supply for one of the adjacent towns. While swimming is perfectly acceptable in the various pools throughout the falls, it is not permitted beyond the top of the falls.

Other Names

[]

Magnitude

22.24

IWC Rating (International Waterfall Classification)

2.16

Total Height (ft)

75

Tallest Drop

20

Number of Drops

8

Average Width

25

Maximum Width

75

Average High Volume (Cubic ft per second)

26 cfs (2 months)

Average Low Volume (Cubic ft per second)

8 cfs (10 months)

Pitch

80 degrees

Run (ft)

400

Watershed or Feeder Stream

Saco River Lucy Brook