Waterfall in Coggshall Park
Recently, there was a discussion on the Fitchburg Hometown listserv regarding a waterfall in the woods of Coggshall Park. I’ve spent many hours along the numerous trails in the park and was therefore surprised that I had not previously encountered the waterfall. I set out to find it this weekend, and it was definitely worth the hike! The waterfall is not located along a trail, which actually makes it that much more rewarding when you find it. My husband and I took a rather circuitous route since we weren’t quite sure where we were going, hiking up the hill accessible by a trail just to the left of Mirror Lake’s outflow stream and then heading off to the right to go back down the hill to the outflow stream in an area that turned out to be downstream of the falls. For a more direct route to the waterfall, one could simply follow the stream from Mirror Lake for about 750 feet. Approximate GPS coordinates are N 42°33.383’, W 71°47.913, the location of which I’ve marked on a map here. Hopefully, the thick layer of ice that made this weekend’s walk quite an adventure has melted today and won’t complicate the journey of anyone else seeking the falls!
As was noted by the person on the listserv who posted a message about the waterfall, it seems likely to be seasonal. I’m sure that it’s quite impressive in the spring, but I personally favor the
appearance of waterfalls in winter, with the water rushing down ice-covered rocks. The height of these falls was somewhere in the range of 25 to 30 feet – the photo above includes my husband and our dog to give some sense of scale. (Sorry for the poor photo quality – I brought along my underwater camera to be safe, but it doesn’t take the best shots!) Standing at the base of the falls, a second smaller waterfall could be seen coming down another hill to the left to feed the stream.
Does anyone else have suggestions regarding other interesting natural formations in Coggshall Park that can be found off the beaten paths?
Labels: Things to do
posted by Erica @ 4:47 PM
8 Comments:
Hey Erica,
Well this weekend since it was nice out and most of the snow has melted, I finally got a chance to walk to the waterfall. It was pretty nice, luckily since the ice is melting on the pond quite a bit of water was flowing over the overflow dam. It was quite a bit of a trek since their is no set path along the river, kind of made our own trail. I must say I was pretty impressed with it though, bigger than I thought. Anyways thanks for showing me where it was, hopefully more people will explore it as well.
Shaun, glad you made it out there! I was planning to go check it out this weekend to see how much impact the spring melting had on things but got sidetracked.
The latest Friends of Coggshall newsletter noted that a local high school student recently created a map of trails and points of interest within Coggshall to achieve Eagle Scout ranking. I'm looking forward to seeing what he highlighted on that map.
Hi, Erica.
I finally made out to the waterfalls today. I'm doing a story for the Pride based on your blog post, and would love to include your comments, if you wanna. You can e-mail at editor@fitchburgpride.com.
HI Erica
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Erica,
Your story sounds similar to ours as myself and my wife moved to Fitchburg in 2004 from Natick because of the affordable house prices. I work in Milford Ma at a Biotech company, so its about a 40 Mi drive one way. But the nature here is so much better than that area. I have been to Cogshell park but not to the waterfall yet. I should tell you that there is a remarkable waterfall/small gorge in the woods in Fitchburg near my house. It is off Ringe road near stoneybrook village in north Fitchburg. It would be difficult to explain how to get there but I think it is part of a MA autobon sanctuary. It is very reminicent of what you would see in the white mountains of nothern New hampshire.
Neotonic, thanks for the tip about the waterfall near your place. I have yet to visit the Flat Rock Audubon sanctuary, primarily because they don't allow dogs and I'd feel guilty going for a walk without mine...but it sounds like something I should check out sometime!
I completely sympathize with the commute (I'm driving into Boston these days) but agree that it's worth it for the quality of life out here. However, let me know if you ever want to start up a biotech company in Fitchburg, as that's my background as well. :)
Neotonic,
That's refered to as "Cub Camp" about a mile up Rindge Rd. on the left. I have no idea where that name came from but we have swum in the small pool at the end of the gorge after mountian biking.
Erica,
Are you sure they don't allow dogs up at Flat Rock? We've been walking our bullmastiff around Overlook Res. for years. It's a tough trail at first to navigate a stroller, even one with shocks but great for the dogs! I'd hate to be breaking the law!
Stah, I got the dog thing from the Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary site. However, it seems to refer to a trail you have to pay to access, which doesn't sound like the area where you've been walking your bullmastiff. So hopefully, I didn't just mess things up for you and your dog!
On a related note, thanks for the tip on the swimming hole! Any others in Fitchburg? It's something that I've missed a lot, having grown up surrounded by ponds and rivers in which to spend hot summer days...
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