Balancing Rock & Orris Falls

There's a treasure hidden in the woods of South Berwick Maine, and it's one I've lived a town over from my entire life without ever knowing it existed. That treasure is called the Balancing Rock, a marvel of nature you can see for yourself with just a short hike from a parking area off Emerys Bridge Road.

Our first time out in these woods my wife and I learned a valuable lesson - that is, muggy summer afternoons are not the ideal conditions in which to hike these trails. I can only remember a few times in life that mosquitoes chased me out of a place, but this was one of them. We made it to the rock, but after a few quick pictures and a whole lot of swatting we retreated to the car - leaving any other treasures these woods had to reveal for another day.

Deciding that the rock would probably look better in the snow anyways, we planned a return trip with friends this past January. Our group soon reached the rock and, trusting that having balanced for thousands of years it could hold on just a little bit longer, we took turns posing underneath it.

Photo by Barry McKay

In the few years we've been coming here this conservation area has seen steady improvement. Most recently it was the parking lot being extended to hold more than its previous capacity of three cars, and prior to that Eagle Scout Brian Couture put benches at the more picturesque spots of this trail, including one at Balancing Rock that allows you to just sit and marvel.

From here we backtracked a few hundred feet to the main trail, then continued northwest for another half-mile until finding a sign for the next historical spot in these woods, Littlefield Homestead.

This farmhouse and barn were built in 1860 by Daniel Littlefield, but don't go looking for what you see on the sign, that structure is long since destroyed.

Photo by John Egolf

What remains of the homestead are some retaining walls, foundations, and a well, all of which I spent time wandering through and contemplating sticking my head into. You can bet that if there's so much as a cubbyhole anyplace I'm exploring, I'm gonna try and stuff myself into it.

Photo by John Egolf

Just past these ruins is the Littlefield Cemetery, final resting place of Daniel, wife Mercy, and daughters Henrietta and Eunice. Littlefield died in 1891, three years after Mercy, leaving the property to their son Orris.

From the cemetery you are only minutes from Orris Falls, described as a ninety foot gorge cutting through the earth. Coming by this direction you will approach the falls from the top, and although I wouldn't describe them as gushing - at least not on the day we went - they were strong enough to where we could hear them before we could see them.

Once arriving, the challenge then became finding the best vantage point to admire them from. We walked a little ways beyond and bushwhacked our way toward its base, then with some stone-hopping were able to get close enough to see them from below. This was a good spot to watch the water cascading down, but we concluded that the best view was actually from back on top, where if you climb down from the sitting bench area you can peer right over the fall's drop.

That was our last planned stop, but on the return hike we spotted one more family cemetery in the woods, nearby the parking lot.

Our final tally that day was a tick under three miles, and with very few hills this was an enjoyable hike with a couple of great payoffs. For an even easier hike you can go just out to the rock and back - only a one mile round trip - but whatever your ability, a visit to the Orris Falls Conservation Area is a great addition for anyone's to-do list. There's an adventure in these woods for everyone.

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