About Campbell Falls
Campbell Falls was a very photogenic waterfall featuring a pair of drops said to have a cumulative height of about 50ft.
The direction of the flow of the water for each of its drops went in different directions so it may have a bit of a zig-zagged appearance depending on the viewing angle.
Personally, I found this twisting characteristic made the falls stand out considering it was unique amongst the New England Waterfalls that I’ve encountered so far.
In any case, this was definitely one waterfall where I was very glad to have brought my tripod, especially since I made my visit on a cool crisp early morning under low light.
Indeed, as you can see from the photo above, Campbell Falls had a nice flow and pattern to it while contrasting with the somewhat rugged terrain along with a hint of Autumn colors.
I certainly found that it made for some of my most pleasing waterfall photo opportunities of the New England area.
Hiking to Campbell Falls
The hike down to the base of Campbell Falls (where you can get the view in the photograph at the top of this page) was a fairly short descent of about 5-10 minutes or so (maybe 15 minutes going back up).
Something that caught my eye was that about half-way down the trail, there was a small pylon where “CONN” was on one side and “NM MASS” was on the other.
Apparently, the trail crossed from Connecticut into Massachusetts so the falls was technically in the state of Massachusetts.
Once I was at the bottom of the trail, I was right before the falls and its dark plunge pool.
There was an informal scramble that allowed me to go above the lower drop of Campbell Falls for a closer look at the taller upper tier.
However, aside from this and the view from across the plunge pool, I didn’t notice other ways to view the falls.
It was simply one of those excursions where it was enough to bask in the silence of Nature broken only by the sounds of rushing water as well as the odd birdsong and rustling leaves.
Overall, I spent about an hour away from the car (see directions below).
But most of that time was spent taking photographs and enjoying the falls itself.
I’d guess that only 20 minutes of it or less of my time here were spent hiking.
Authorities
Campbell Falls resides in Campbell Falls State Park near Norfolk, Connecticut. Even though the waterfall is technically across the border in Massachusetts, it is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
We’ll describe the driving route from North Canaan, CT since it was the largest town of any size around Campbell Falls.
From the town of North Canaan, CT, I went east on Highway 44 until it junctioned with Route 272 just before the town of Norfolk, CT.
I then turned left onto Route 272 and followed it for about 4 miles before turning left onto Campbell Falls Road (note that I crossed from CT to MA at this point).
Then, the road became unpaved as I followed it for about 0.4 miles towards a small car park and traihead area on the left.
This trailhead parking was easy for me to miss because of the tree cover and because I was the first one there.
However, if another car happened to be parked there, I’m sure the trailhead wouldn’t be so easy to miss.
By the way, this parking area was just across the state border on the Connecticut side.
And the trail would take me back across the border to the Massachusetts side again.
Finally, for some context, New Marlborough was 11 miles (under 30 minutes drive) north of Norfolk, CT, 48 miles (about 90 minutes drive) northwest of Hartford, 144 miles (3 hours drive) north of New York City, and 144 miles (over 2.5 hours drive) west of Boston, Massachusetts.
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Looking up and down the falls before zooming out and panning downsteram to see the Fall colors
Bottom up sweep from above the lower waterfall ending above the upper waterfall
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50 ft Tall two-Level Waterfall in CT, USA September 4, 2021 11:09 am - In Campbell Falls State park in CT, USA, the waterfall is almost 50ft tall, two levels and the hiking to the fall from parking lot is less than 1 mile one way. When coming close to the fall (you will hear the roaring sound), the fall is very steep. Extra caution is needed for kids… ...Read MoreNearest Waterfalls
