Bash Bish Falls State Park United States

Legendary

The highest waterfall in Massachusetts.

Photo by Fabio Bruna

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Legend says a Mohican woman named Bash Bish was sent over these falls to her death after being wrongly accused of a crime. As she fell, witnesses claimed a ring of butterflies circled above her head like a halo. True or not, the story has followed the waterfall for generations, and some visitors still say the falls are haunted.

Bash Bish Falls is the tallest single-drop waterfall in Massachusetts, dropping about 60 feet into a pool below. The water starts as a spring high on nearby Mount Washington and tumbles down a series of smaller cascades before making its final, dramatic plunge, split in two by a massive boulder wedged in the middle of the falls.

The falls sit inside Bash Bish Falls State Park, tucked into the Berkshire Mountains in the far southwestern corner of Massachusetts, right along the New York border. The park itself covers 424 acres of forest and rugged terrain in the Taconic Mountains, a smaller range within the larger Berkshires.

People have been visiting the falls since at least the 1800s. Famous American landscape painter John Frederick Kensett painted the waterfall in 1855, and the image helped turn Bash Bish into a popular destination for nature lovers throughout the 19th century.

Swimming and cliff jumping used to be common here, but both are now banned. The rocks around the falls are extremely slippery, and the pool below is shallower than it looks. Rangers now keep a close watch on the area to keep visitors safe.

Hike the main trail to the viewing platform for the best look at the falls without breaking any rules. Bring a camera, since the boulder-split cascade and emerald pool below make for one of the most photographed spots in the Berkshires. Fall is an especially popular time to visit, when the surrounding hillsides turn bright red and orange.