Step Falls

Step Falls is a deceptively significant waterfall - one of Maine's tallest in fact - situated just east of Grafton Notch State Park. The falls tumble down a long smooth series of slides and cascades, dropping a total of about 160 feet in a linear run of over 800 feet. No individual section of the falls is more than about 50 feet tall, but viewing the whole series from downstream makes some sections appear taller when stacked on top of the next and subsequent drops. Interspersed between each section of falls are several inviting pools, the presence of which makes this waterfall a popular summer swim hole destination. Most of falls are located on a parcel of land managed by the Mahoosuc Land Trust, open and accessible to the public (so long as the public is well behaved), but the uppermost part of the falls falls within private property. Signs near the top of the falls denote the boundary of the reserve, and indicate where the public is no longer permitted to go. Little of the falls is hidden out of view beyond the property boundary, so sneaking further upstream isn't worth risking a potential trespassing charge. Wight Brook drains from a basin roughly 4.7 square miles in area, and has been known to swell to rather impressive volumes from time to time during periods of flooding or heavy snow melt. While the falls will appear quite boisterous during the spring freshet or after periods of prolonged precipitation, during the summer months the creek's volume should be expected to drop considerably. Though the falls don't run dry, because of how the water interacts with the bedrock slides, the falls lose much visual impact later in the season, becoming partially lost among the light gray color of the granite bedrock.