Looking for adventure close to home? Then look no further than Enders Falls in Granby, CT. After a few minutes googling where the nearest cliff jumping would be, I stumbled upon this location and an accompanying video. From that moment, I was hooked. I immediately sent out the message asking all my friends who would want to go jump off a +25ft cliff into water… and it wasn’t long before we were all piling into cars on that summer Saturday morning.
We finally make it to the empty parking lot at the East Granby State Forest and headed into the trail. I googled everything I could about this place before we left. The trail would follow, in total, six cascading waterfalls, and finding #4 was the goal of the day. Each waterfall we stopped at did not look promising. The water levels were, at best, knee-to-thigh high. Walking down the empty paths along the river, really showed Connecticut’s hidden beauty. After walking all the way to the end of the path, swimming into each waterfall pool, none of the depths seemed to be deep enough to jump from the rocky cliffs that surrounded the bodies of water. Maybe it was the drought, or maybe we were in the wrong spot, but we all realize this wasn’t going to work and decided to head back.
On our way back up the trail we saw a shirtless man disappear off the edge of a tucked away cliff, and heard a splash to follow. Alas, we found the cliff jumping! One by one we all funneled down to the cliff’s edge. GoPro on. And into free-fall we jumped. The fresh water below was murky and freezing, but it felt amazing when you entered after plummeting 25 feet. It amazed us that we weren’t able to find the cliff at first, but that was because we kept looking at the waterfalls’ edges. This spot was tucked back from the waterfall and possessed depths ~12ft, which is an ample amount of water to jump into without hitting the bottom.
*ATTENTION*: During a later visit to Enders Falls, we did find a large, sunken tree in the water and a few massive rocks that surround the landing spot. Swim and dive all over before you jump in, if it is your first time there.
After hours of jumping off the awesome high and low cliffs, one of the locals told us about a rockslide. This was one of the coolest, sketchiest things I’ve ever done. There was a slap that jutted out 12ft over a body of water that lied under one of the falls, a body of water that I knew was only waist–to-chest deep. The slab itself, had a stream of water running across the moss that had grown on the rock. At the end of the slab, rocks stood at the bottom of the edge, making a gap to the water. The guy takes a seat at the top of the slab and pushes off. It wasn’t till I went, did I realize how much speed you pick up as you slide over the soaking wet moss. Needless to say, he soared through the air in the seated position and landed perfectly in the shallow waters. This is where we then spent another couple of hours sliding off the rock and getting wet. Granted, your butt does hit the ground which is rock and pebble covered, but most of the times it doesn’t hurt. Try to keep your legs as straight as possible to create the most surface area to arrest your entry into the water.
Don’t Forget to:
-Check the water & depths before you do any jumping/sliding
-Go swimming in all the waterfalls (they’ll be cold, but worth it)
-Bring footwear that can go into the water. You have to climb out of the water onto rocks to get back to the top which could mess your feet & toes up.
-If you bring a GoPro, wear a wrist strap. Zero visibility in the water in case you drop it to the bottom.
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based out of Park City, UT.
