Bailey Brook Falls

Length: 1.8 mile loop

Difficulty (click for info): Easy

Elevation Gain: 250 feet (loop total)

Rating (click for info): 6/10

Height: 10' (lower) and 15' (upper)

Source: Bailey Brook

Driving Directions:
Trailhead and parking area are on Stoddard Road, in Nelson, NH. To get to Stoddard Road, take Bailey Brook Road from the west side of Rt. 123 in Stoddard, 1.5 miles south of Rt. 9 and 5.5 miles north of Rt. 137. Bailey Brook Road becomes Stoddard Road at the Nelson town line. 1.4 miles in, pass the trailhead and old parking area, now barricaded and closed. At 1.7 miles from Rt. 123, turn left into an unmarked spacious grassy lot. Due to the closure, you must park here and walk back to the original starting point. Click here for a Google map.

Trail Map

About the Hike:
The Harris Center maintains a well-cared for network of interpretive trails and walking paths on and around the slopes of Osgood Hill, highest point in the town of Nelson. The area has some alluring history that is evident as you explore the paths' intentional routes by artifacts and remnants of the region's past. This easy but lightly used loop trail explores the area around Bailey Brook, visiting two delightful waterfalls and the site of a homestead and mill operation.

From the clearing, walk east down the road (right, facing the road) for 0.35 miles and reach the now-abandoned former parking area. Look for the yellow sign picturing a bee. If you want to enjoy the interpretive aspect of the trail, walk past the sign to the mailboxes and pick up a trail guide, which are usually readily in stock. Continue walking down the road, now officially part of the loop trail, for a quarter mile. As you approach a marsh in view ahead, look for the trail on the right by a pointy rock, just before a private property sign. The path is narrow, but obvious enough to follow. Right from the road, you can see the first waterfall, a 10' chute down through a rock as Bailey Brook merges into the large wetland. The waterfall itself is just over the line on private property, so enjoy it from the side of the trail. The trail leads past the top of the waterfall and follows close beside the brook. Some sections of the trail can get obscured by vegetation, so pay attention to the route. It passes through a patch of tall ferns and comes out to the edge of a wetland, hemmed in by a beaver dam, after 0.1 miles. It leads away from the stream and follows along a stone wall, then crosses a tiny tributary of Bailey Brook on a log bridge, and returns to the main brook in another 0.1 miles. It stays beside the brook for the next 0.2 miles, stepping through a stone wall, and arrives at the foot of the upper Bailey Brok Falls.

The stream splits into three delicate fans and slides down a single ledge face. Step out toward the middle of the brook to view it from multiple angles. The top of the waterfall was the location of an early 1800's era sawmill which was operated seasonally by the Osborn family. The stonework is still evident all around the trail. Continue up the hill between two stone walls and pass several more cascades above the main drop. The trail swings to the right and soon crosses the old road to the mill. It passes by an open wetland dotted with snags, returns to the brook for a short distance, and turns right and leads between two stonewalls which historians identified as a livestock watering path. At the top of a small knoll, foundation remnants are visible on both sides of a trail, along with an old well opening. At 0.2 miles from the falls, the trail tees into the old road again. The main trail turns left here, but take a few steps to the right, and you'll find the much more obvious cellar hole of the main Osborn homestead. Turn back and continue down the old road for 0.05 miles to a trail junction with Kulish Ledges Trail. Bear right and stay on the road for another 0.15 miles back to the trailhead and walk back up the road the way you came.

Printable directions page