Waterfall Hike - Arethusa Falls, Ripley Falls etc.

A 4.3 mile hike to Ripley Falls and Arethusa Falls. Starts from the Willey House Station site and goes 0.5 miles to Ripley Falls which has a 100 foot drop. From there it’s 2.5 miles to Arethusa Falls, the highest fall in New Hampshire at about 176 feet. After that we can make stops at Bemis Brook Falls and Coliseum Falls on the 1.3 mile hike to the Arethusa Falls parking area. Total estimated trip time 2:40 not including stops for lunch and pictures.

This hike is rated as an easy one, not a lot of elevation gain.

Bring along a backpack with your lunch, trail snacks, camera, sunscreen, sunglasses, extra socks, insect repellent, 1.5+ liters (48oz+) of water/gatorade (don’t drink the water at the waterfall!) and energy snacks. Hiking boots are suggested. If you wear sneakers, bring along an extra pair of sneakers/socks, there may be wet sections near the falls. Loose fitting clothing recommended (NOT cotton! Cotton will get wet from sweat and can take up to 8 hours to dry. It's also cold when wet. Get fibers like polyester, dri-fit, coolmax, etc that wick moisture away from the skin. Available at places such as REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, City Sports, etc.).

Meet at the parking area in front of the Ripley Falls trailhead. We should reach Ripley Falls around noon for lunch. The car ride is about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Boston. Carpooling is recommended. Please RSVP for the start time of this trip by contacting Henry at AOBoston@yahoo.com. Please let me know if you can take extra passengers or need a ride by June 1st. Those on the RSVP list will be notified if this trip is canceled or postponed due to weather.

Additional information:

This is a point to point hike so we will need to move a couple of cars a few miles up the road to the end of the hike and shuttle people back to the start.

Typical AOB policy has been for passengers to pay the driver a $10 carpool fee directly.

Total distance from Boston is about 160-165 miles. It is about a 2.5-2.75 hour trip from Boston without stops.  

Also please bring an extra pair of socks/shoes. Depending on the amount of rain, it’s also possible that parts of the trail may be wet and your shoe could get wet (which is why boots are recommended). An extra pair of socks will prevent blisters if you feet get wet. 

Additional hiking tips at: http://www.asianoutdoors.org/boston/hikingtips.htm