Have you ever wanted to stand with one foot on either side of a waterfall?
For most notable falls, that wouldn’t be possible. But at the Mount Carmel Spring Falls, you can span the thing. Its water burbles over the edge, down 76 feet of drops and rivulets into the more gushing Gorge Cascade.
Connecticut isn’t exactly known for its waterfalls, with geological circumstances creating rather squat elevations that limit the possibilities. The highest is Kent Falls in Kent, at about 250 feet, followed by Roaring Brook Falls in Cheshire, at 80. But the third-highest is just a 15-minute drive from downtown New Haven, on one of the edges of Hamden’s Sleeping Giant State Park.
Rainy weather of late should be good for the falls but can mean Sleeping Giant is packed with hikers and picnickers on nicer days. Even with three parking lots and street parking, it was hard to find a space near Giant’s main entrance at 200 Mount Carmel Avenue—but if you’re looking for the waterworks, that’s not necessarily where you want to be anyway.
Sure, you could hike it. It’s a two-mile trip to the Spring Falls from Mount Carmel Avenue, using a combination of the Violet and Circle trails that wends on an upward slope across much of the park. For those inclined, it’s a great way to see the Falls and Cascade and feel like you’ve earned it.
For the hiking-averse or time-crunched, an easier route exists. Driving northeast on Tuttle Avenue, past River Road, brings you much closer to the water. Before reaching Mansion Road—located about here—there’s a turn-off with space enough for just three cars. The day I went, the crowd at the Tuttle spot was a number of horses in the pasture across the way, two other cars in the tiny lot and a rusty dissolving bus in the field over.
Despite no signage, waterfall-seekers are in the right place—a fact made clearer if you have a map. Sleeping Giant has more than 30 miles of trails, and here is where two of them—the Circle trail and the horseback riding trail—intersect. The water features are located along the former, its pathside trees marked by red circles. As for which direction to take, since a tall fall is the goal—and you can confirm it with that map—uphill is the way to go.
The passage inclines quickly, as a depression with a stream forms on the left. The stream, relatively slight during my visit, has managed to carve out the crevice over thousands of years. Along the steep trail, tree roots anchor red sandstone turf. The roots form impromptu staircases at some junctures and rough tangles at others, but it’s only a short walk to the top, where the ground evens out.
The Spring Falls and Gorge Cascade extend below, the latter a gradual 25-foot drop of water leaping over mossy rocks on its way, eventually, to the Mill River. Feeding the stream passed earlier, the waterfall and cascade are in turn fed by Sleeping Giant’s trapped snowmelt, as well as a share of the park’s rainwater and spring water.
As such, the falls and cascade show their best in the springtime. Taking the Circle trail leads directly over the top, where a small footbridge spans the first drop. Water pours over the edge, streaming left, right and, of course, down over rocky, brushy shelves on its 76-foot trip to the Gorge Cascade. Compared to the frenetic splashing of the cascade, the falls have a quieter flow.
Other than an intense jogger leaping over tree roots, the path to see the waterfall was quiet. This is clearly a less-trafficked part of Sleeping Giant. Most parkgoers are attracted to the picnic areas or the famous Tower Path, named for the observation tower (and stunning vistas) to which it leads.
But explorers of less worn tracks should seek the natural observation tower above Mount Carmel Spring Falls, whose delights are, well, more natural.
Written and photographed by Anne Ewbank. This updated story was originally published on April 27, 2017.
