Buttermilk Falls

Buttermilk Falls is a 15-foot tiered in Vermont, on Branch Brook. The water falls in 3 distinct tiers.

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

Plungeworthy rates Buttermilk Falls 6.4/10 — worth a detour. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

Branch Brook drops through three distinct sections here — upper, middle, and lower falls, about 43 feet of cumulative drop — each feeding its own pool. The lower falls is the swimming destination: crystal-clear, olive-green water pooling 25 feet wide beneath a short, sharp drop, easy to reach and easy to hang out at.

It's a smaller-scale, quieter cousin to Bartlett or Warren Falls — a real local swim spot rather than a statewide destination, with rougher, rootier footing on the short approach trail that keeps casual foot traffic down.

Ownership is split: Vermont's Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation owns the land, with Vermont River Conservancy holding a conservation easement — the pattern behind a lot of Vermont's small free-access swimming holes.

A local summer swim spot, best June through August; light-to-moderate crowds compared to Bartlett or Warren Falls — more of a neighborhood destination than a tourist stop.