Bash Bish Falls
Bash Bish Falls is a waterfall in Massachusetts, at a modelled elevation of 289 m. Mount Everett stands 793 m to the east-southeast, 3.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Bash Bish Mountain, a peak 0.4 miles away. Jacob's Ladder Trail (Route 20) passes 18 miles off.
The story
Bash Bish Falls, a waterfall in Bash Bish Falls State Park in the Taconic Mountains of southwestern Massachusetts (Berkshire County), is the highest waterfall in the state. The falls are made up of a series of cascades, nearly 200 feet (61 m) in total. The final cascade is split into twin falls by a jutting rock, dropping in a 59-foot (18 m) "V" over boulders to a serene pool below.
The waters of Bash Bish Falls begin at a spring in Mount Washington and after the falls, Bash Bish Brook has cut a 1,000 -foot deep valley on its way westward to adjacent New York State. The brook cuts between Bash Bish Mountain (elevation 1890) and Cedar Mountain (elevation 1883) creating a dramatic gorge that frames the falls. Bash Bish Falls State Park is located next to both Massachusetts' 4,000-acre (16 km2) Mount Washington State Forest and New York's 5,000-acre (20 km2) Taconic State Park.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q4866752, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 18.1 mi off the Jacob's Ladder Trail (Route 20)
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Bash Bish Mountain: 0.4 mi
- Mount Washington: 0.4 mi
- Cedar Mountain: 0.5 mi
- Mount Ethel: 1.0 mi
- Dugway Hill: 1.2 mi
- Garrett Garden and Green: 2.4 mi
- Copake Town Park: 2.9 mi
- Town Park: 5.1 mi
- French Park: 5.8 mi
- Barnard Memorial Park: 7.3 mi
- Plaintain Pond: 2.9 mi
- Camp Hi-Rock: 3.9 mi
- Schenob Brook Fen: 4.3 mi
- Schenob Brook Acec: 4.6 mi
- Berkshire School Road Preserve: 5.7 mi
- Sheffield Historical Society: 7.2 mi
- C H Pease Museum: 10.3 mi
- Connecticut Railroad Historical Museum: 10.4 mi
- Gallery: 10.6 mi
- Circle Museum: 10.6 mi
- Copake Iron Furnace: 1.1 mi
- Tri-State Marker: 4.6 mi
- Battlesite Monument: 5.9 mi
- Searles Castle: 8.5 mi
- Dough Boy: 10.5 mi
- Newsboy Statue: 7.8 mi
- Liebowitz Letter: 8.5 mi
- Naked Lady: 8.8 mi
- Diving Lady: 11.1 mi
- Divine Mercy: 15.1 mi
- Upper Falls: 4.0 mi
- Lower Falls: 4.1 mi
- Bear Rock Falls: 4.7 mi
- Sages Ravine Falls: 5.0 mi
- Sages Ravine Brook Falls: 5.7 mi
- Naumkeag Garden: 15.0 mi
- Berkshire Botanical Garden: 15.1 mi
- Heritage Garden: 15.5 mi
- Walled Garden: 18.4 mi
- Old Dutch Village Garden Club: 21.0 mi
- Sheffield Covered Bridge: 7.1 mi
- Orchard City Millage Sign: 8.4 mi
- Giant's Thumb: 10.9 mi
- Beckley Furnace: 12.6 mi
- Town Hill Farm: 12.8 mi
- Devil’s Pulpit: 12.0 mi
- Kennedy Cliffs: 19.6 mi
- The Beech: 22.0 mi
- Space Invaders: 22.1 mi
- Squirrel Wall: 22.1 mi
- East Beach: 10.9 mi
- West Beach: 11.7 mi
- Oakdale Beach: 17.4 mi
- Adams Point Beach: 20.9 mi
- South Landing: 22.8 mi
- Questing: 12.4 mi
- Dudley Town: 22.4 mi
- Guilder Pond Picnic area: 3.0 mi
- Pond off Chair Factory Road: 22.4 mi
- Saugerties Lighthouse: 22.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.0 miles of Bash Bish Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Everett | ESE 107° | 793 m | 3.2 mi |
| Mount Frissell | S 172° | 747 m | 4.5 mi |
| Mount Ashley | SSE 166° | 725 m | 3.8 mi |
| Mount Race | SE 126° | 723 m | 3.9 mi |
| Bear Mountain | SSE 158° | 708 m | 5.2 mi |
| Brace Mountain | S 179° | 706 m | 4.9 mi |
| South Brace Mountain | S 179° | 702 m | 5.3 mi |
| Round Mountain | S 169° | 695 m | 4.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:58 | 18:29 | 19:06 |
| June solstice | 05:19 | 19:52 | 20:34 |
| September equinox | 06:42 | 18:16 | 18:53 |
| December solstice | 07:20 | 15:41 | 16:26 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 24 | 26 | 34 | 47 | 57 | 66 | 71 | 70 | 62 | 50 | 40 | 30 |
| Precip in | 3.1 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Copake, 3 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–Jan, Mar–May — fullest in Apr, leanest in Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 105 | 90.8 | 163 | 198 | 105 | 60.4 | 51.9 | 33.2 | 36.1 | 48.7 | 81.4 | 118 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Green River Near Great Barrington, MA, 8 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/7306947804
Day trips start here
- Great Barrington · 9 mi
- Monterey · 15 mi
- Stockbridge · 15 mi
- Berkshires · 18 mi
- Lee · 18 mi
- Lenox · 20 mi
Take the scenic way to Bash Bish Falls.
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