Roaring 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. Roaring Falls will be encountered after only a few hundred feet, located immediately downstream of the footbridge below Shannon Pond.Roaring Falls is the first of the seven named waterfalls found along Shannon Brook within the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area. The falls cascade 13 feet down a small flume with sheer walls on either side and a small wooden footbridge spanning the chasm just upstream. Roaring is the most significant of the five "upper" waterfalls along Shannon Brook, and sets the tone for the trail as one proceeds downstream from the parking area. However, like the other four falls between here and Bridal Veil Falls, were Roaring Falls 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.