places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Mt. Washington, MA
The Park
Indian lore tells us of a young woman called Bash Bish, who lived in a village near these falls. Accused by a jealous friend of adultery she was sentenced to die. Bash Bish was strapped to a canoe and turned loose upstream from the deadly cataract. The canoe plunged into the falls and Bash Bish’s body was never found. When Bash Bish’s young daughter, White Swan, grew up she often lingered sadly in the gorge and one day leapt to her death just before her lover Whirling Wind could reach her. She too was never found but it is said the images of Bash Bish and White Swan sometimes appear in the waters of Massachusetts’ highest waterfall, almost 200 feet tall. John Frederick Kensett, a leading member of the Hudson Valley School of artists, painted the falls in the 1850s. In 1860 the area was purchased by Jean Roemer, who built an elaborate Swiss-style chalet mansion that was to burn to the ground years later. The Massachusetts Department Environmental Management acquired 400 acres surrounding Bash Bish Falls in 1924.
The Walks
Bish Bash Falls lies on the New York-Massachusetts border and can be reached from parking lots in either state. Adventurous dogs will want to pick their way down a serpentine trail from the Massachusetts side that will take about twenty minutes. The New York route is longer - about one mile - but level the entire way. For extended time on the trail in the woods around Bash Bish that are peppered with hemlock trees. You can hook your dog up on the South Taconic Trail that passes around the park.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There are mapboards and the trails are blazed. If you are unsure of your location, head for the roar of falling water.
Workout For Your Dog - About an hour to hike to the falls and back.
Swimming - Not around these falls.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to visit Bash Bish Falls.
Something Extra
When Jean Roemer owned Bash Bish he invited celebrated French acrobat Charles Blondin to walk across the falls on a tightrope. Blondin had gained fame by becoming the first person to walk across Niagara Falls and he is said to have found Bash Bish more frightening than Niagara because of the black boulder-lined chasm beneath him.
Phone - (413) 528-0330
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Mt. Washington; From Route 7 south of Great Barrington take Route 23/41 west for 4.9 miles to South Egremont. Turn left onto Route 41 South, then take the immediate right, Mount Washington Road, and continue as it becomes East Street. Turn right onto Cross Road then right onto West Street and continue for 1 mile. Turn left onto Falls Road and follow for 1.5 miles to the parking lot and trailhead on the left.
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