The Doane’s Falls Adventure, Royalston

There are a few short videos of Doane’s Falls towards the end of this post.

It had been a long winter. Benny, getting antsy from not having gone on nearly enough adventures, told me that it was time for a road trip. Simply going on a hike or visiting a museum wasn’t going to cut it for him; rather, he wanted to get in the car, drive quite a ways, and then explore a new area.

Not having gone far myself, I agreed with my little bear friend. It was high time for a day trip. But to where? We’re still wary of people, not only because of the virus, but also because they look at us funny when Benny and I explore populated public places. I can’t figure out why. So, we looked at the map of Massachusetts and decided to go to a random town we had never heard about before.

And that town was…Royalston. Have you heard of it? Before our trip, neither did we. With a population of only 1,300 and waterfalls to explore, we knew that this northern central Massachusetts town was going to be perfect for our next day trip adventure. Next stop: Doane’s Falls!

Plans almost foiled – parking lot trouble

After a two-hour drive, during which we stopped once for lunch and other multiple times so that Benny could use the restroom, we were finally approaching Royalston. I wasn’t sure if we had crossed the town line, so I thought I would be cool and use the voice activation feature on my GPS and ask where we were. The GPS, thwarting my plans to look like a techie hot shot, told us that we were still in Leominster, which was 40 minutes away. I sighed audibly. My well-known map app never works right. I have should listened to my own advice on why you should just shut off the GPS.

Of course, Benny just laughed at me.

Anyway, we finally made it to Doane’s Falls and found the parking lot. Can you imagine our disappointment when we saw that the parking lot was full? And that there were numerous “No Parking” signs on the street, forbidding us to park our tired car anywhere?

It truly was a discouraging moment. The parking lot was small, and I was ready to head home.

“We didn’t drive all the way to Doane’s Falls just to turn around!” Benny said. “We’re getting there!”

This tenacious bear’s attitude brightened my mood. Absolutely we would get in. We wouldn’t let a full parking lot demoralize the spirit of two intrepid explorers!

We drove a little ways down the street and found another parking lot. FULL. Finally, we found a third, and, lo and behold, there was one spot left! We quickly pulled into the parking place. Looking up, we saw this sign:

Wow. They mean business here. If you plan on going to Doane’s Falls, have a backup plan in case the lots are full. We did have our own backup plan; more on that later.

The Long and Icy Path

There was something at Doane’s Falls that we didn’t have back home: ice and snow. And there was a lot of it. The parking lot was sheer ice.

I told Benny that it would be easier to walk on the path. Once at the trailhead, he literally LOLed. The trail leading to the falls was, just like parking lot, sheer ice.

Being the naïve Southcoast Mass residents that we are, we didn’t expect to enter a winter wonderland. Which brings me to another lesson: Expect the unexpected. Benny disagreed with me, however. He said that if we expect the unexpected, than the unexpected is really expected, and that there would be nothing unexpected to expect.

I didn’t want to get a headache, so simply said, “You’re absolutely right.”

Of course, the ice didn’t faze Benny at all. He just hopped into my backpack.

Alas, I wasn’t going to let a little bit of ice thwart our plans to view the waterfalls. (Wow, I really have a thing for the word “thwart” today.)

I took baby steps, slipping, sliding, and walking in the snow when I could. Benny provided much needed background music by free-versing, singing, “Ice, Ice, Benny” and then every time I slipped, “Bob’s Under Pressure,” which, to me, really sounded like the same song. But that’s a discussion for another time.

Doane’s Falls

After trekking through the woods, we began hearing the roaring, rushing river waterfall.

If you watch the above video, you’ll get an idea of what we were up against, ice-wise.

Naturally, Benny wanted to get out of the bag for a photo op. In the background, you can see a fenced-off area near one of the falls. Thank goodness it’s fenced off, because I may or may not have almost fallen into the river.

Now, ready for a rare treat? A photo of Benny and me! Together!

Benny wasn’t looking at the camera, and it looks like I put on weight, thanks to the gloves in my pocket, but by golly, here’s a picture of both of us! This photo is brought to you by my wonderful wife, who joins us on most of our adventures.

At the top of the post, I promised that I would add a few videos of the falls. Here they are!

The Tough Decision and the Walk Back

I’m pretty sure there’s another section of Doane’s Falls upriver. But, with the ice and chance of slipping off a ledge and into the river, a tough decision had to be made: to turn around.

Normally, our adventures are very safe, but once in a while we have to make a decision based on safety. It can be fun to explore, but you need to know your limits and stay safe.

We decided to turn back.

Remember that backup plan I mentioned at the beginning? Well, our backup plan was to check out some other waterfalls in the area. However, with the conditions of those trails being similar to the one at Doane’s Falls, we thought it best if we return to the area in a month or two when the snow and ice have melted.

So, stay tuned for some upcoming waterfall hike posts!

For more info on Doane’s Falls, check out the Trustees of the Reservation website.

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If you like Central and Western Massachusetts, check out these places!

• Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
• Climbing South Mount Sugarloaf
• Make Your Own Candle at the Yankee Candle Headquarters
• Check out Dinosaur Footprints
• The Titus Mansion Ruins at Ashintully Gardens
• The Housatonic River Walk, Great Barrington
• The Norman Rockwell Museum

Check out our map of places we’ve been in New England!