Stair Brook Falls
New Haven County, Connecticut
Your visit at a glance
- Waterfall height
- 46 ft (14 m)
- Location
- New Haven County, Connecticut
- Access status
- Published trail route and roadside parking documented; scramble for best views
- The walk
- About 0.5 miles each way, about 1 mile return
- Ground & access
- Easy to moderate to the first view, with about 175 feet of climbing. The better views require bushwhacking and scrambling on loose trap rock that is hard on ankles.
Stair Brook Falls is a 40-foot series of small drops and cascades on Stair Brook in James Valley Preserve. From the roadside parking, follow the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail up an old dirt road. After 0.4 mile the brook comes into view on the right. A few hundred feet on, turn left to stay on the trail, about 30 feet before the dirt road crosses the brook. The falls are about 200 feet farther upstream. Better views need a scramble across the brook to the south side.
Plan your visit
Stage Coach Road to Stair Brook Falls on the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail
New England Waterfalls gives 0.5 mile one way. The return figure is derived by doubling it.
Easy to moderate to the first view, with about 175 feet of climbing. The better views require bushwhacking and scrambling on loose trap rock that is hard on ankles.
Where to start
Roadside on the southern leg of Stage Coach Road, 0.2 mile from CT 17, just before a major bend. CT 17 is reached 3.6 miles south of the CT 77 junction in Durham. There is no parking lot.
Timing & water
Best in April and May when the brook has water.
Before you go
The source listed no cost to visit (as of 2016).
Visitor informationVisit sources
More waterfalls nearby
Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.
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