Winniweta Falls

PHOTO: Bria crossing the Ellis River at the beginning of the Winniweta Falls Trail in Jackson. At times at high water the Ellis River can be difficult to ford but that also means the cascading water over the falls would be more impressive. We enjoyed an easy and safe crossing. The trail is 9/10ths of a miles to reach the falls. It is a lovely walk in the woods.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

Bria and I continued on her White Mountain Guide redlining adventure starting and ending in Jackson. From Carter Notch we hiked the Wildcat River Trail to the Wild River Trail and then up and down the Eagle Link Trail before doing an out and back to the Black Angel Trail intersection. After hiking 18 miles we slept soundly in our tents.
The next morning we had a much shorter hike out the East Branch Trail to our waiting car that we spotted. All these trails are notorious for making feet wet but since there has been so little rain lately we were able to keep our socks dry. Good thing because we wore the same clothes we had hiked in the day before.
It is a long dusty drive up Slippery Brook Road & the East Branch of the Saco River Road and Bria suggested I drive back to Jackson while she hiked the Bald Land Trail; you know, so she could do one more thing, just about a mile and a half. It was only 10:30 am and for Bria she’d hike the shortcut back to Jackson so she wouldn’t have to make this drive again.
By the time I drove 45 minutes to reach the end of Black Mountain Road in Jackson she was already bouncing down the old gravel road towards me. We drove back up to the end of Carter Notch Road to pick up her car. On the way we discussed that it still wasn’t quite lunchtime.
How about another one-more-thing? There would never be a better time to do Winniweta Falls. The Ellis River might not be this low again anytime soon if ever.
The Winniweta Falls Trailhead is right on Route 16, 3.2 miles north of Jackson’s famous red
covered bridge. There is a wide shoulder on the west side and it is marked by a hiker symbol
sign on top of a post shared with the forest service trail sign “Winniweta Falls Trail.”
There were a couple cars already parked there when we arrived. The Falls are just 9/10th of a
mile away but there is a catch. You have to ford the Ellis River. The River is wide and it is often shallow enough to wade across. The water is always cold too.

It is a short walk from the road to the bank of the Ellis River. The last time I did this trail the water was up to my knees. I couldn’t believe what I saw. The water was so low that it appeared that the river’s rocks were in a position to allow us to rock hop across without getting our feet wet.
We gleefully picked our way across and at the far bank where rocks were missing someone had laid a couple of logs to bridge the gap. Fantastic! Hikers on their way back waited for us to
cross and cheered for our successful crossing. I would have never guessed that it would be possible to cross without getting wet.
We passed over the JacksonXC’s Ellis River cross country ski trail, it had been recently mowed and on the ski trail sign there was another sign pointing straight ahead to the Falls.
The Trail along Miles Brook is an old logging road/ski trail. Thanks to the trail maintainer the trail was clear and some water bars/ditches were cleared to help keep the path dry. It is a gentle uphill walk and when the trail is nearer the Brook we saw a little sign for the Falls pointing down a path to the brook below. The effort to take the path down to the bottom of the Falls in order to see the Winniweta Falls is worth it. This little important sign is a welcomed addition because in the past it was sometimes tricky to find the falls.

Water fell down the 30+ foot rock wall surrounded by green moss into a deep clear pool at the
foot of the falls. The downfall of visiting waterfalls during near drought conditions is that the loud cascading exciting display of water just isn’t happening. It was still pretty and the foliage was just starting to brighten. It was a pleasant walk. We enjoyed seeing the ledgy bed below the falls and, also, another fork of the brook enters just below the falls that was an open area full of large round boulders with no water running down on this day.
The path/ski trail does continue along the brook past the falls for another mile until it intersects with the Hall xc-ski trail. We decided it was best for us to head back for lunch instead of exploring the cascades any further.
We made it back across the Ellis River and we still marveled that this was possible to do and
still keep our feet dry. We were glad that we did just one more thing.
Have Fun.