Middle Race Brook Falls

The waterfalls of Race Brook are accessed from the Race Brook Trail, which begins along MA 41 about 2.8 miles north of the Connecticut / Massachusetts border, or about 5 miles south of the junction of Routes 41 and 23 in South Egremont. The parking area is large and well signed so as to be difficult to miss. The trail climbs gently for the first half mile before briefly leveling off then gradually descending to Race Brook at the base of Lower Race Brook Falls just under two-thirds of a mile from the parking area. The trail crosses Race Brook (no bridge) and begins climbing earnestly from here. The second falls are encountered at the 0.75 mile point, with a fairly obvious (but unmarked) path branching off to meet the creek at the base of the falls for an up close view.Race Brook is a moderately small stream which drains from a small basin nestled in between the summits of Mounts Everett and Race in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains. As the stream cascades down to the Housatonic Valley, it produces a very nice series of waterfalls in a one-after-the-other chain. Each fall is separated from the next by just enough distance that we’ve opted to consider them to be separate waterfalls rather than one congruent series of falls. The second falls in the series is a pretty sliding horsetail type fall which drops a total of 54 feet in a linear run of about 60 feet. The stream veils out in a very attractive fan-shape at the base of the falls, splashing into a small pool. When viewed from below only about half of the falls can be seen, but as the trail climbs up past the falls, the remainder of the falls can be glimpsed from the side, often with a bush or tree or two obscuring clear views. Race Brook is not a terribly large stream by any standards. The basin feeding into the stream above the falls covers an area of just over half of a square mile, ranging in elevation from about 1600 feet up to 2600 feet at the summit of Mount Everett. Despite the small drainage area, because the region receives a steady diet of precipitation throughout the year, the falls will often present themselves well enough – though during the summer months it may be reduced to a trickle, especially during droughts.