About this spot
Purgatory Falls' Lower Falls drops about 40 feet into a shaded amphitheater along Purgatory Brook, on the Lyndeborough-Mont Vernon town line in southern New Hampshire. Trailhead parking is on Purgatory Falls Road, with a short, well-trodden path to the pools; the Upper and Middle Falls lie further upstream. Multiple hiking guides, trip reports, and the New England Swimming Holes directory document it as a popular swimming hole, with both a lower pool and a smaller pool above the falls used for dips. Water is often ice-cold even in summer. Slippery, moss-covered rocks and sudden depth changes are the hazard that matters — several sources explicitly warn against diving. Access is free and legal on conservation land; busiest on summer weekends.