The Falls on Island Meadow Brook

 If you're in search of a waterfall without the long hike in, where Island Meadow Brook empties into the Connecticut River may be a perfect outing for you. However, if you relish a reward at the end of a longer hike, then I encourage you to pick up the Green VAST trail that connects to the Vernon Rec trails. Either way, I think that you will agree that these falls are worth checking out. Before we get started, if you are the sort who loves a good back story to an area prior to visiting, I suggest that you read Volume five of The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, The Towns of Windham County, Vernon, 1861

A couple of notes before you go; though a short walk to the falls, some areas are steep and the ground is covered with loose leaves. Make certain that you have appropriate footwear prior to entering the area and I recommend trekking poles. This may not be the place to explore with small children. Additionally, this area is not posted (yet) so please respect it so that its owners keep it open. 

When traveling south on 142, just past Vernon Green is the north end of Stebbins Road on the left. On Stebbins Rd, look for the fire pond on your right with a small pull off. Directly across the road from the pond's damn is a worn path to the left of the ravine which leads to the falls. This path will give you a vantage point above the brook and falls. On the way back we walked along the brook.

A look down river from where the falls empty into it.

An Ideal location for a selfie with my daughter Helen

A steep narrow path perhaps made by fishermen goes down to the river. 

The river current and level varies depending on the hydroelectric plant's outflow from up river.

We first noticed these falls in August of 2020 while canoeing from the Vernon Damn towards Stebbins Island. On that day we lost our canoe when we capsized after being forced up onto a fallen cottonwood tree. Unfortunately, I also lost Wayne's cell phone and all of my pictures of the falls during that event. You can read about that adventure in Our Lifejackets Saved Us.  

We decided to descend the bank and walk along the brook's on the way back to Stebbins road. 

Eastern Hemlock is a major tree in south eastern VT and makes up much of the forested land here in Vernon.  I was alarmed to see the high level of infestation of  Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in this area. This insect kills Hemlock trees in four to six years by feeding on it's sap. Given that it has also been found in the Town Forest, I hope that Vernon has a plan to save our trees. 

Eastern Hemlock are the predominant tree around the falls.

I turned around to take a last look at the river and was surprised at how the view changed dramatically from viewing at brook level versus looking down on them from the top of the ravine.

A marker on the opposite bank

A leg bone from a deer

Deer hide

As I mentioned above, this area comes with noted history, some of which involves conflict between Native American's and the settlers here. This story begins in the Gazetteer with, "Aug 20, 1756 Capt Joseph Stebbins of Hinsdale (Now Vernon)... were harvesting wheat upon his farm" Abby Maria Hemenway author of The Gazetteer, also retells in the same paragraph, the finding of a Native American skeleton unearthed in this area.*

Weather you are looking for a pleasant place from which to view the river, a fishing spot, or perhaps interested in imagining the life of the indigenous people and settlers of Vernon, this nature find has something for everyone. -Norma Manning

Resources:

* Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Volume 5

VAST Trail Breakers Map 

Water Features In The Windham Region South Eastern VT (map)

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

Entomology Today, Biological Control for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

Ah-ha!

When I was a teenager traveling out west with my family, my parents excitedly announced that we were standing on the continental divide. You can imagine my lack of excitement when I ceremoniously poured the contents of my canteen on the ground and observed the liquid splatter like any other spilled drink back home. Truthfully I hadn't thought much about that day since except now and then when it served my purposes as bragging rights. But that changed this weekend in Vernon while on a Saturday bird walk led by Biologist Cory Ross.

You know how when you live in one place for a long time it's kind of expected that some things belong in a certain place and when that isn't so you feel like you are lost? It's like when living in Vernon the Green Mountains are always to the west but when you go to Bennington they suddenly are on the right.  It's times like these that I'm unsure if I'm really still in Vermont. Take the Connecticut river for example. If you live from Springfield, VT down to Vernon, the CT is to the east, cross the bridge into NH and the CT is to your west.  When trying to gauge where a child went shopping with their parents you might ask if they crossed the bridge. If the answer is yes it's pretty certain that they were at Walmart in NH.

So what does any of this have to do with a bird walk in Vernon? Well, as It turns out it has a lot to do with it. You see, Vernon has a hundred year old hydroelectric dam that spans the CT across from Cold Brook store on Governor Hunt road. There is a picnic area below the dam where bird watchers can get a pretty good look at any variety of waterfowl on any given day. Standing on the west bank looking east towards NH, we spotted mallard, golden eye and common merganser, pintail, and Canada Geese before we moved on to our next stop on Stebbins road which is left off of 142.  We drove half a minute to where the power lines are and walked a tenth of a mile to an overlook where we saw a flock of robins and a bald eagle. I kept looking over the river to the opposite bank and couldn't quite put my mind to what I was noticing, but something didn't quite feel right. It was cold and the group called it a day but my brain still nagged me into the evening about that feeling you get when something is on the wrong side of the Green Mountains.

It wasn't until I checked my pictures that I put my finger on it. From Stebbins road I was looking west across the CT river but I hadn't crossed over a bridge and I hadn't left the town of Vernon to get to Stebbins road from Governor Hunt road. I enthusiastically spouted, "I found the oxbow!" Wayne looked at me like someone who had just dumped water on the continental divide and mumbled, "We were still on the west bank." Yes that's true, but we were looking west over the river to VT.  Clearly my ah-ha moment was lost on him so I further explained that we could stand at the dam in the morning and watch the sunrise over the CT then go to Stebbins in the evening and watch the sunset over the CT all without crossing the river or leaving Vernon! Wayne otherwise engaged in galactic battle on his tablet, remained unimpressed. I on the other hand learned something very important this weekend.

Sometimes it takes forty years for a person to truly appreciate what's so exciting about that place where water flows west to the Pacific and east to the Atlantic. I hope that someday, one of our four adult children thinks about something lame that I was so excited about and shouts AH- HA! - Norma Manning

View from Stebbins overlook