It looks like I'll be in MA very briefly (to testify) and could swing past Bash Bish Falls on my way back out of NE on sat. But does it have any water this time of year? I've never been there, so any hints would be great.

Where on the face of this earth is Bash Bish Falls? How about sunday morning instead? I'm booked up solid saturday.....

Does Bish Bash have water?? it has water when the entire planet will be dry....truly a hidden gem. you should go ms. winger
Best, Peter

Bash Bish falls is in Copake Falls; which is near Copake.

Yes, it has water running; but it is late Summer, early Fall - so flow is much lower than Spring melt.

Please also remember not to tell too many people here about Bash Bish. It's a secret! ;)

Because it is in Copake Falls, which is near Copake which is near where....

Thank you! Drew, I can't stay 'til Sun unfortunately. And the falls is a good 4 hours from the Cape, I'd guess.
Copake-Ham, are we talking about the same falls? The one I'm headed for is in MA, near Egremont.

Oh man, i used to go their when i was a kid with my camp (camp hi-rock). i loved that place, an amazing waterfall and beautiful, clear, cold water to swim in.

This thread brings back childhood memories - I too went to camp high rock in the mid sixties - we had a hike and campout there. Everyone dared everyone else to go swimming there - I do remember the water was extremely cold - even in mid summer.
Tim

Thank you! Drew, I can't stay 'til Sun unfortunately. And the falls is a good 4 hours from the Cape, I'd guess.
Copake-Ham, are we talking about the same falls? The one I'm headed for is in MA, near Egremont.

Sorry Bethe, I believe Bash Bish is indeed in NY, just over the line from Washington and Egremont.

check here (http://www.butlerart.com/pc_book/pages/john_frederick_kensett_1816.htm) for a painting of the place. The painting actually looks a lot better in person... Not as nice as your photo will, of course.

Bash-Bish falls is in Massachusetts. The western parking lot is in New York the falls is about a 3/4 mile hike from there. It is fairly easy. The eastern lot is in MA and is higher in elevation than the falls and it is quite a hike down.

Thank you! Drew, I can't stay 'til Sun unfortunately. And the falls is a good 4 hours from the Cape, I'd guess.
Copake-Ham, are we talking about the same falls? The one I'm headed for is in MA, near Egremont.

Yes, we're talking about the same falls.

Bash Bish is literally just across the state line inside MA from NY. If you park in the lower lot* off of Rte. 317 to hike in, your car will be in NY but you will hike up the trail into MA to get to the falls.

So you are correct that geographically the falls lie in Egremont.

One thing to note - it's been extremely dry this past week but I don't think the falls ever go totally dry - but you might see more of a trickle than a torrent! ;)

*BTW, the lower lot has more parking spaces than the two or three near the direct path to the Falls. On a nice day I recommend using it for convenience and you get to enjoy about a 3/4 mile hike each way.

EDIT: Didn't see Paul and Whitey's response before posting.

Bash-Bish falls is in Massachusetts. The western parking lot is in New York the falls is about a 3/4 mile hike from there. It is fairly easy. The eastern lot is in MA and is higher in elevation than the falls and it is quite a hike down.

I stand corrected.

I stand corrected.

No worries, Whitey. There are a few geographical "anamolies" along the Taconic range.

If you go a few miles south of Bash Bish on the NY side you will come to the settlement known as Boston Corners.

Back in the 19th C., although it is in the Harlem Valley on the west side of the Taconic Mtn. range, this patch of land was then still part of MA from land boundaries going back to colonial times.

It was physically isolated from any law enforcement from the Commonwealth (this was pre-car and highway days) yet it was served by the New York Harlem Railroad from NYC.

Essentially, it was a lawless enclave.

A famous prize fight was held there that lasted many rounds over several days. It was basically a drunken festival full of gamblers, whores and other "miscreants" who'd taken the train up from NYC. Things got very rough and ugly.

Outside the enclave, the NY State Police could only stand and watch as they had no jurisdiction to move in and create order.

Sometime later, MA ceded the Boston Corners settlement over to NY - a rare instance of a state-to-state land transfer - so that it could be properly policed.

Given that kind of history, the fact that you get to Bash Bish Falls in MA via a trail from NY is rather quaint! ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Corners,_New_York

The only time I'd been there, the person I was with made a big point of showing me that we had crossed into NY to get to the parking lot - must have liked that side and wanted to make a point. Never bothered to look at the topo map. If this is my biggest mistake of the week, I'm doing fine. No worries.

No worries, Whitey. There are a few geographical "anamolies" along the Taconic range.

If you go a few miles south of Bash Bish on the NY side you will come to the settlement known as Boston Corners.
<snip>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Corners,_New_York

George,

That is a great bit of history. Massachusetts offered NY a lawless, ungovernable bit of land, and NY took it? (OK, it was an obvious, practical move).

A more mild version is the boundary dispute between New Hampshire and Vermont (to keep it in New England), settled finally in 1934 in the U.S. Supreme Court. NH got the entire river - the boundary is on the west bank of the river, not down the middle as seems more common. Of course, NH now had to pay for the full upkeep of bridges, etc on the river. For such a, well, frugal state as NH, seems like the smaht move would have been to let Vermont have the river! Admittedly mild compared to the lawless boxing enclave, but another trivial bit of New England history.

George,

That is a great bit of history. Massachusetts offered NY a lawless, ungovernable bit of land, and NY took it? (OK, it was an obvious, practical move).

A more mild version is the boundary dispute between New Hampshire and Vermont (to keep it in New England), settled finally in 1934 in the U.S. Supreme Court. NH got the entire river - the boundary is on the west bank of the river, not down the middle as seems more common. Of course, NH now had to pay for the full upkeep of bridges, etc on the river. For such a, well, frugal state as NH, seems like the smaht move would have been to let Vermont have the river! Admittedly mild compared to the lawless boxing enclave, but another trivial bit of New England history.

Jon,

That's a great example of "be careful what you wish for"!

I can see how the case evolved since NH was an "original state" and VT was not. In fact, NY claimed the Green Mountains after the Revolution, only to be rebuffed by the remnants of Ethan Allan's Green Mountain Boys!

At one point the "Original Thirteen" had overlapping claims across the continent (and perhaps even to "space, infinity and beyond! ;) )

In your instance, NH apparently "won" their "manfiest destiny" argument - much to their regret.

BTW: Northeast boundry disputes continue. NJ has recently won claim over part of Liberty Island in the NY Harbor against NY. But I don't think they "got" the Tourist Center in the decision. That was the "prize" in order to claim the sales taxes on souveniers from the gift shop! :D

and didn't a town in Vermont vote to become part of NH a few years ago?

and didn't a town in Vermont vote to become part of NH a few years ago
Yes, Killington. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/03/02/killington.secession.ap/

And of course there's NH's attempted claim of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which is in Maine (officially now) on an island between the two states. The NH residents working there objected to paying income tax to Maine.

To stay on topic, Bash Bish falls sounds too interesting to pass up, if only for the name!

So? Did it have water?

Regards, Art.

Yup, there was water. And lots of people in the way. I might have gotten a few okay shots, but nothing award-winning. One hint for anyone who's never been there - there are 2 parking lots. The upper one is closer to the falls, but along a trail that's nearly straight up and down. The second parking lot (farther along the same road if you start from rt 41 in Mass) has a trail that's longer, but supposedly flat. TAKE THE LONGER TRAIL. I went the hilly way and it took about an hour to be able to breathe right.