Hiking Royalston Falls With Bill & Kiara

Bill & Kiara at Royalston Falls

Still catching up on some past hikes, I thought I would catch up on this one with my brother Bill and his daughter Kiara from September 12, 2010. Bill had purchased some hiking boots for her at REI a short time ago, so this was her first lengthy hike, if you will. We went to Royalston Falls again, where we have hiked multiple times this year. This area is fantastic, and it worked out to be just good enough for Kiara, as she handled the terrain just fine.

Again, the trail starts at a parking lot on rte 32 and descends a half mile quickly to the Falls Brook Shelter. At the shelter, there were two hikers or campers hanging out that spent the night like we once did. We passed and moved onto Royalston Falls, which is just south of the shelter about .3 miles. Unfortunately, it was pretty dried up compared to the other times we have seen it. We took some pictures and had some snacks. Kiara wanted to explore everything and go up the path of most resistance!

Playing in the shelter

While in the vicinity of the falls, we noticed a trail that began at the top of the hill. The area where the falls are located is pretty steep. It is basically a gorge on one side with a gradually steep slope on the other side, where the trail winds. We decided to take the trail a little bit and see where it ended up. Come to find out, it leads to a parking area on Falls Road. This parking area is accessible by a rough dirt road. Kiara found it hilarious that a pair of underwear was left as a flag on a pole at the parking lot.

We got going. Once back on the Tully Trail, and back towards the shelter, we spent some time walking along Falls Brook. Kiara wanted to look for some frogs, and it was not long until we did find a couple. We were trying to help her corral one for herself. She loves to collect bugs, worms, anything.


She did a fantastic job handling the terrain and did not complain once until the end when we were hiking up the hill to the car. (Who wouldn't its a decent climb up.) All in all it was a great few mile hike for her and a good enough hike to keep me and Bill going. She enjoyed it very much.

Hike Stats

Trails: Tully Trail

Distance: 2 miles

Elevation Gain: 500 ft (+/-) Only gain is the .5mi hike from the shelter back to the trail head.