June 18, 2019 – Bear’s Den – Massachusetts

Yesterday Shadow, Wilma, and I Adventured to Bear’s Den in New Salem, Massachusetts.  Bear’s Den includes a short trail to a scenic waterfall, a stream, a secluded gorge, and contains ruins of an old mill.  The waterfall is a cascade falls, approximately twelve feet in height, and is sourced from the Swift River.  The Reservation was given its’ name due to a black bear being shot on the property.  Bear’s Den is owned and managed by the Trustees of Reservations.

We had a rainy Adventure to the Bear’s Den Reservation.  We were quite thrilled to have a weekday Adventure as our three days off in the summer has begun!  I expected the weather to become rainy, but we were determined to visit Bear’s Den, so we carried on!  I was pleased to arrive at a small and empty parking lot.  I had read there was hunting at this location so decided to adorn the pups in their bright orange armor!  We headed down a green surrounded trail into the great outdoors.  There was an informational kiosk a bit down the path with a map.  Soon we heard the singing of the stream, and headed straight to the water.  Shadow of course attempted a dip in the shallow water while Wilma found a fallen tree to climb, and a stick to chew.  We took our time in this area walking around the shore, jumping on the rocks, and wandering around the mill remains.

The trails were not clear, however we followed the sounds and quickly located the waterfall from high above the gorge.  We were pleased to find a path down to bottom of the gorge, and directly in front of the waterfall.  The gorge area was spectacular, with caves in the rocks, lovely green, and the tall boulders surrounding us as we peered at the waterfall.  The Falls had two main sections, separated by rocks in the middle.  It was small, but yet just right.  We relaxed for awhile taking in the scene.  Both Shadow and Wilma spent some time sitting, while Wilma also enjoyed some rock jumps, and Shadow often could be found searching for the quickest path to the water.  Wilma seemed a bit uneasy at times looking around cautiously, my mind repeatedly expecting a bear sighting  Thankfully we did not see a bear!

Bear’s Den was a peaceful and special location.  It was hard to capture the Falls in photographs, so I would encourage you to view the videos below.  So glad we could Adventure to this location (Rating:  4).