The Nature Conservancy in Maine - Step Falls Preserve

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Step Falls Preserve © TNC

Large boulders at Step Falls © TNC

Trail Map

Download a preserve map. (335KB, .pdf)

Acquired in 1962, Step Falls was The Nature Conservancy’s first preserve in Maine and remains one of the most frequently visited. The 24-acre western Maine preserve features an easy walk to the base of the falls and a longer climb to the top, where the view of the surrounding mountains is breathtaking. Glacial melt water carved Wight Brook at the end of the last ice age. The falls flows over granite criss-crossed with veins of milky quartz.

What You’ll See

The trail to the base of Step Falls passes through stands of spruce and fir to a hemlock forest. The trail then follows the brook through woods dominated by white birch, beech, hemlock, white oak, fir and spruce. At the upper edge of the preserve is a small grove of red pine trees.

The dramatic chutes and pools of today’s falls are only the latest chapter in a story that began over 360 million years ago. Eroded sediments accumulated to form shales that were then transformed by heat and pressure into schist and quartzite as the surrounding mountains grew. Molten rock hardened to form granite in cracks within the schist and quartzite. About 12,000 years ago, as the glaciers of the last ice age retreated, torrential meltwaters carved Wight Brook gorge. Today, the erosion and change at Step Falls continues; spring runoff can reach volumes large enough to move large granite slabs.

Location

Newry, Maine

Hours

Dawn to Dusk

Size

24 acres

Preserve Guidelines

To learn more about the logic behind these rules, please read our complete list of preserve use policies.

Foot traffic only
Please stay on the trail and respect areas marked as private
No collecting of plants or animals
No pets
Carry out all litter
No fires, smoking or camping

Directions

Take Route 26 to Newry from Route 2 in Bethel. The preserve is on the right, just before Wight Brook, about eight miles from Route 2. The preserve is ten miles from the New Hampshire border, 14 miles northwest of Bethel and one-half mile southeast of Grafton Notch State Park. Please parke in the field near the brook.