Being that spring weather can be quite unpredictable, we try as much as possible to get out of the house and take advantage of nice days. The days’ weather was simply beautiful. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the early fifties. There are several waterfalls here in Maine and we decided to get into the car and do some exploring. We decided to visit an area of the state that we have never gone to before. Even though it wasn’t that far of a drive, we dad plenty of time and sunshine to work with. We decided to visit Houston Brook Falls in Bingham, Maine, and of course, made a few unexpected stops along the way. These unplanned stops usually make for wonderful photo opportunities in our beautiful and scenic state.
As I mentioned, we have never been to this area of the state before. Our usual routine takes us through the towns of Madison or New Portland. Instead of our typical route, we continued north along the Kennebec River on Route 201A. Our first photo opportunity included a quick stop along the road to take a few photographs of the Wyman Dam. This hydroelectric dam is located in Somerset County and connects the southwest corner of the town of Moscow with the southeast corner of Pleasant Ridge Plantation.
A view of Wyman Dam from Pleasant Ridge Road.
As we continued on, we stumbled upon the Pleasant Ridge Swim Area on Wyman Lake in Moscow. We pulled into the parking lot and got clicking away.
Wyman Lake is the result of the Wyman Dam.
During the warmer months, visitors to the area can enjoy an array of lake activities such as fishing, swimming, and picnicking.
Even though it has been a bit warmer, the lake was still pretty frozen and we were able to walk along the shore on the thick ice.
Here is one last photo from our way back to the car. We were then on our way to our waterfall destination.
When we reached the falls, we parked to the left of the fence of the Pleasant Ridge Transfer Station, making sure not to block the gate with our car. We didn’t have any problems finding a spot, as there were few cars in the area.
It is about a ten-minute walk and a distance of 0.5 miles from the entrance down the trail to the falls. Between the ice and taking photographs, it took us a bit longer to get down to the bottom.
The trail is covered under a canopy of pines, cedars, and a mix of deciduous trees. As I was taking photographs, I was visited by a brown creeper (Certhia americana), I didn’t get the chance to take a photograph of this interesting bird, but I was happy to hear its beautiful song.
The falls are an impressive thirty-two-foot drop, with jagged rocks throughout its formation. During the summer, I’m sure this would be a great place for a nice and cooling dip in the water.
I brought the tripod to help me take breathtaking photographs of the falls, but the ice-covered rocks put a damper on that plan. Instead, I hand-held my camera and used a Sigma 10-22 wide-angle lens.
A downstream view of the brook flowing into Wyman Lake.
I then decided to get closer to the falls. This entailed the tricky task of making it up this steep section of the trail. Not an easy feat, but I made it. I’m glad I did because it was quite incredible to experience the roar of the falls from this vantage point. I’m sure the flow of the water will decrease when the summer is here. We had a decent amount of snowfall this winter and there will be a great deal of melting snow to fuel the falls for the next few weeks. The water was very abundant and we sure picked a wonderful time to visit. There is nothing worse than showing up at a waterfall and seeing nothing but a trickle of water.
There was a great deal of mist at the base of the falls and with the way the sunlight was hitting the water, it made for the wonderful chance at capturing a beautiful rainbow.
Instead of taking the same trail back to the parking area, we continued past the falls and met back up with the trail from another direction. This gave us an opportunity for a few more photographs and experience more views.
I’m sure glad I wore my STABILicers traction cleats for our hike. I don’t think I would have made it around on the slippery ice and rocks as easily as I did. It was the perfect time to visit the falls and take advantage of some of the scenic beauty the state has to offer. I hope you enjoyed the view!
If you are interested in visiting this scenic splendor yourself, the falls are located in Somerset County, just minutes off of Route 201 on Pleasant Ridge Road.
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