Doane Falls

Doane Falls is a 25-foot tiered in Massachusetts, on Lawrence Brook. The water falls in 7 distinct tiers.

It's fullest after rain, and flow can drop off during dry spells — plan around recent weather.

Plungeworthy rates Doane Falls 7.4/10 — worth the drive. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

Doane's Falls is a fifth of a mile of Lawrence Brook falling apart — five distinct cascades dropping through a mossy hemlock ravine toward Tully Lake. Sources disagree on the total (145, 175, and 200 feet all get cited; one calls it the second-tallest falls system in the state), but nobody disputes it's among the most beautiful stretches of falling water in Massachusetts.

It's a Trustees of Reservations property with a graded trail linking the tiers, including a 0.15-mile accessible path from the lower lot — the rare big waterfall system that works for strollers and mobility aids.

Water access is completely prohibited: after a run of drownings and injuries, the Trustees banned swimming, wading, and diving in 2002, and the ban is posted and enforced. This is a waterfall to walk beside, not get into.

Spring runoff turns all five tiers loose at once — the best show. Fall foliage over the ravine is the photographer's window.