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 third falls is passed at the 0.8 mile point, with multiple (if informal) spur paths darting down to various levels along the creek to provide up close views.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 third fall in the series, which we have opted to give the label of Race Brook Falls (more out of practical necessity than as a deserving title) is actually a series of three falls in quick back-to-back-to-back succession over a run of about 120 linear feet of Race Brook. The series of falls drops a total of 67 feet, with individual steps of 30, 25, and 12 feet respectively. All three tiers can be viewed collectively from the base, though the upper drop is partially obscured due to foreshortening, and all three can likewise also be viewed up close individually from spur paths that branch off the Race Brook trail. 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.