Best Time to Visit Maine Waterfalls
Maine has sharp seasonal contrast: spring is snowmelt-driven and loud, summer is easier for mixed swim-and-falls days, fall adds foliage and more moderate flow, and winter shifts the scene toward ice formations and limited access.
The list below is a comparison set — not a calendar claim for every drainage. Use the map to see where you are going, then open each guide for seasonal notes and access cautions. For swim-first planning, pair this with Best Maine swimming holes.
Rank 1: Moxie Falls — Moxie Gore
Viewing only, not a swim stop
A roughly 90-foot single-drop waterfall on Moxie Stream in Moxie Gore near The Forks, Somerset County, Maine.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 5-10 min one way
Rank 2: Smalls Falls — Township E
Tiered Sandy River roadside waterfall south of Rangeley on Route 4, Township E, western Maine.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 3: Gulf Hagas — Bowdoin College Grant East
Viewing only, not a swim stop
Maine's classic slate gorge on the West Branch Pleasant River in the KI Jo-Mary country. 8-mile AT-linked loop.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 4: Step Falls — Newry
Multi-tiered cascade and ledge pools on Wight Brook in Newry, Maine. Short walk from a preserve lot off Route 26.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 5: Coos Canyon — Byron
A short gorge on the Swift River in Byron, Maine, on Route 17. Pools, low jumps, and a classic rest-area swim and…
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 6: Angel Falls — Township D
A tall narrow drop on Mountain Brook in Township D, reached by an unpaved approach west of Houghton / Rangeley.
- Walk
- 15-25 min one way
Rank 7: Rumford Falls — Rumford
Viewing only, not a swim stop
A major Androscoggin River waterfall through downtown Rumford, Oxford County, Maine.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 8: Houston Brook Falls — Pleasant Ridge
A short-trail horsetail waterfall off Route 201 near Bingham, in Pleasant Ridge Plantation.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 9: Screw Auger Falls — Greenville
Grafton Notch State Park's polished slot-rock waterfall on the Bear River in Newry, Maine.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 0-5 min
Rank 10: Snow Falls — West Paris
A short Little Androscoggin River gorge on Route 26 at West Paris, Oxford County, Maine.
- Walk
- 0-5 min