A seasonal waterfall cascades down the side of Mont Ripley ski hill to form Ripley Falls. The largest drop is about halfway up the hill, a sudden plunge down an exposed rock face. Most of the other drops are smaller cascades over huge boulders. While the parking area and first part of the hike is in a residential area of Hancock, hiking up the hill along the small creek is wooded and fairly quiet. Some access roads and the cropped grass of the ski hill surrounding the creek's cut make for an easy and scenic hike down.
Directions
Park at the old Ripley School (now an apartment building) on 2nd street just east of Mont Ripley's entrance. Head to the pine-covered hill on the north side of the parking lot and hunt around for a trail. There are a few footpaths that led up this hill and along the creek. Try to stick far above the creek until you pass the house with a bench in the backyard to avoid trespassing.
The first waterfall shows up just past this house, so cut down to the creek here and follow the creek upstream. There are a few railroad grades near the top with some small rapids upstream. The ski hill has some access roads on west side of the creek for an easy walk back.
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