Arethusa Falls
New Hampshire · 138-foot drop · White Mountain National Forest · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Arethusa Falls is 63 cfs today, around its seasonal average. July averages 6.3" of precipitation here — expect high flow.
Right now
Streamflow
62.9 cfs
SACO RIVER AT RIVER · 1h ago
Overnight
55°F
Partly Cloudy
Tuesday
69°F
Partly Sunny then Showers And Thunderstorms Likely
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:28 AM · Sunset 8:15 PM · 14h 47m
Snapshot built 15m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS GYX.
Arethusa Falls is a waterfall in Grafton County, New Hampshire. It drops roughly 138 feet. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Arethusa Falls sits in Grafton County, New Hampshire. It drops along The waterfall occurs when the headwaters of Bemis Brook. The falls are inside White Mountain National Forest. The base sits at roughly 2,148 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 11 minutes from Bartlett. A trail — Arethusa Falls Spur Trail — runs within 80 meters of the marked location. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Entry is free. Dogs on leash are welcome on the access trail.
Arethusa Falls is a waterfall in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. The waterfall occurs when the headwaters of Bemis Brook tumble over a granite cliff on the western slope of Crawford Notch. Arethusa holds the distinction of being the tallest single-drop waterfall in New Hampshire; some high-angle cascades surpass it in height, such as the Mahoosuc Range's seasonal Dryad Falls.
Is the water flowing right now?
Most waterfall sites don't tell you this. The waterfall itself is almost never gauged, but a USGS streamgage in the same watershed can tell you whether snowmelt has started, peaked, or run dry.
USGS gage 010642505 · 6.9 mi away
SACO RIVER AT RIVER STREET, AT BARTLETT, NH
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 50.3 cfs · 116% of last year — similar
When to go (from the climate data, not our opinion)
Monthly averages from Open-Meteo's reanalysis dataset (2020–2024). Highlighted months are when we think the waterfall is at its best — but the numbers are the numbers regardless.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip (in) | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 10 | 4.7 | 21.2 |
| Feb | 27 | 10 | 3.6 | 18.6 |
| Mar | 35 | 19 | 4.5 | 15.6 |
| Apr | 45 | 28 | 5.9 | 11.6 |
| May | 60 | 41 | 4.4 | 2 |
| Jun | 68 | 51 | 4.6 | 0 |
| Jul | 73 | 57 | 6.3 | 0 |
| Aug | 70 | 55 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep | 64 | 48 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Oct | 53 | 38 | 5.2 | 3 |
| Nov | 40 | 26 | 4.4 | 11.4 |
| Dec | 31 | 17 | 7.1 | 18 |
Source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API · ERA5 reanalysis 2020–2024.
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arethusa Falls (this page) | — | 138 ft | — | Y | Free |
| Bemis Falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Coliseum Falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Fawn Pool | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Ripley Falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Nancy Cascades | 2 mi | — | — | — | — |
Related waterfalls
Similar height (~138 ft)
- Rainbow Falls138 ft
- Twin Falls138 ft
- Pratt's Falls137 ft
- Panther Creek Falls136 ft
- Florence Falls141 ft
Questions visitors ask about Arethusa Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How tall is Arethusa Falls?
Arethusa Falls is 138 feet (42 m) tall. Height is sourced from OSM.
Is Arethusa Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Arethusa Falls is inside White Mountain National Forest. We inferred this from OpenStreetMap protected-area polygons; if you find we got the boundary wrong, please report it. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Arethusa Falls?
Yes — dogs are allowed (White Mountain National Forest permits leashed dogs in most areas). Inferred from park type; check the official site for trail-specific restrictions. Always leash and pack out waste.
Is there a fee to visit Arethusa Falls?
No entrance fee. White Mountain National Forest is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Arethusa Falls from a major city?
Arethusa Falls is 7 miles from Bartlett (about 11 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in New Hampshire
Where it is
44.1467, -71.3927
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arethusa_Falls
Wikidata (Q37916)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37916
GeoNames (5082728)
https://www.geonames.org/5082728/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Arethusa Falls recently, your local knowledge improves the page for everyone. Pick the kind of contribution that fits — every email lands in our inbox and gets read (and credited when we publish).
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