Emerald Pool Falls

From Moultonborough, drive north on Route 109 for six-tenths of a mile, then turn right (east) onto Route 109. Follow Route 109 for 2.6 miles, then bear left onto Ossippee Park Road. Continue for another 1.3 miles to the first of two large parking areas at the broad grass fields in Ossipee Park and park where space is available (the second is closer to Castle in the Clouds). Consult the trail maps and cross the fields toward Shannon Pond, then find the Shannon Brook trail and begin hiking downstream. Emerald Pool Falls is reached after about two-thirds of a mile of easy walking.Emerald Pool Falls is the fifth of the seven named waterfalls found along Shannon Brook within the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area. The falls drop a total of 13 feet in two small cascades of 6 and 7 feet respectively. The namesake feature is likely the small pool at its base, though it hardly seemed significant enough to inspire a name. Like the majority of the "upper" waterfalls on Shannon Brook, this waterfall is functionally small enough that one would be forgiven for walking right past - and many would walk right past if not for the small sign specifically calling out the falls by name. Were it not historically named, this entry would not meet the qualifications to be listed in the database. Shannon Brook drains from a basin on the south and east flanks of Mount Roberts and Faraway Mountain, covering an area of about 2 square miles. Other than Shannon Pond there does not appear to be any permanent standing water feeding the stream, and while it does retain a modest flow for the summer, the streamflow should be expected to drop off considerably in periods of drought.