Mesoscale experiments in a 2-m high by 2-m wide by 3-m long cell were used to evaluate a modeling approach for predicting water movement through fractured rock. In the mesoscale cell, a simulated fracture layer was packed between two coarse sand layers. The simulated fracture layer was constructed by inserting stainless steel tubes through a clay matrix. The fracture pattern consisted of a correlated random distribution of 635 tubes. Water movement is negligible through the clay matrix relative to the simulated fractures. Three water infiltration experiments were conducted using different infiltration rates. The infiltration gallery was a 10-cm by 10-cm square area on the surface of the upper sand layer. A network of 86 probes was used to measure water pressure. Water arrival at the probe locations was indicated by an increase in the water pressure. The experiments were focused on measuring the time-dependent spatial water distribution below the simulated fracture layer. The experimental results are used to test whether the use of an effective porous medium concept to describe hydraulic properties captures the general behavior of water movement through fractured rock. Initial results show general agreement between experimental data and numerical simulations, suggesting that under certain conditions water movement through fractured rock may be understood in terms of effective porous medium concepts. This work illustrates the value of mesoscale experiments for studying flow and transport processes in complex heterogeneous subsurface systems.