Western Mass.- Pierce Brook Falls

After visiting Fuller Brook Falls, we decided that we might as well visit another waterfall in Peru, the even more unknown Pierce Brook Falls. This is probably one of the most remote waterfalls in the state. Reaching it requires a mile bushwhack at the end of a long dirt road. From the intersection of Curtin Road and MA 143, we turned down Curtin Road, taking the next left onto Kreutzer Road. From there, we followed Kreutzer Road to its end. The map shows the road continuing on beyond its passable end, but the end is very clearly at a certain point. From the end of the road, we were skeptical about the property issue, as there is private property on either side of the road as it approaches its end. However, on the side of the road that the falls are on, the signs stopped where the others continued. If a reader of this blog decides to go here, and it is private property, please respect the landowners wishes. Anyways, we followed the road until it crossed Pierce Brook. This is a hard crossing to miss, as a beaver pond floods the road around here. We followed the brook downstream, which began as a pleasant experience, but soon we were dealing with significant blowdowns. To the average, healthy person, these would present a challenge of medium standing. However, after walking around on a healing sprained ankle, I decided to cross the brook to find easier walking. Pierce Brook isn't a very big brook, and it's very easy to cross, so this wasn't much of an issue. However, after getting to the other side and walking a bit, we saw even more blowdowns ahead. Crossing the brook again, we soon came to the beginning of the ravine of Pierce Brook. This is actually a pretty interesting ravine, as it appears that a tributary of Pierce Brook carved the main ravine, and the main brook falls down the side of it. The first few cascades are decent, 6-7 foot drops that are worthy of their own attention and a sign of what lies downstream. 



The first significant drop along Pierce Brook

From the uppermost drop, the walking got noticeably steeper, but the woods become more open. After passing the first drops, we came to the edge of a small, 10 foot gorge at the top of a rocky, tall drop consisting of about 35-40 feet of cascades. While it may not be the most interesting falls I've ever seen, it was worth the drive and bushwhack.

The small gorge above the main falls

The entirety of the main drop

The sprawling, cascading, rocky upper main drop