The three-photon ionization pathways of phenol involving the S? electronic state as well as higher molecular resonances are explored. Photoelectron spectra are obtained upon ionization with femtosecond laser pulses at 206 and 412 nm. In addition to the well-known two-photon ionization signal, there is a small component in the spectrum that stems from a three-photon pathway. This path is resonant with the both the St state and a superexcited state at 9 eV. The dependence of the three-photon pathway on the laser polarization suggests that the optically bright. superexcited state has the same symmetry as the S-2 state. Upon two-photon excitation of the superexcited state, a nonradiative decay leads to the population of a set of Rydberg states, which can be ionized by a third laser photon. Photoelectron spectra taken with a time delay between the fourth-harmonic pulse, which prepares the molecule in the S-2 state, and the second-harmonic pulse, which ionizes the molecule via the superexcited states, reflect the internal conversion dynamics of S-2 to S-1. We also observe a component of the three-photon ionization signal that persists beyond the decay time of the S-2 state, which suggests that a separate ionization path becomes accessible after the internal conversion to S-1. This path may involve another recently discovered valence state with an energy of 7.5 eV. The effect of this latter ionization pathway on the interpretation of time-resolved multiphoton ionization experiments is discussed.