About this spot
Glendale Falls is a dramatic 160-foot multi-tier cascade on Glendale Brook, protected as a 60-acre Trustees of Reservations property spanning Middlefield and Huntington in the Massachusetts hilltowns. A short, well-groomed trail from the 7-car lot on Clark Wright Road reaches the top of the falls in minutes; getting down to the base requires a steep, slick rock scramble. Multiple independent guides, trip reports, and social videos describe several small natural pools at the base as a genuine, if icy, swimming hole. The hazard that matters: wet rock and heavy flow after rain make the scramble dangerous, there are no lifeguards, and the lot isn't plowed in winter. The Trustees allow swimming but discourage it given the height and slick terrain, so stick to the lower pools and skip the ledges above.