| Directions
From the intersection of US 73 and US 86
in the village of Lake Placid head northeast on route
86. In about 4.4 miles, there is a parking lot on
the left. The falls are just beyond that. |
| County: |
Essex |
| Town: |
North Elba |
| USGS Map: |
Lake Placid |
| Waterway: |
Ausable River West
Branch |
| Latitude: |
N 44.31143o |
| Longitude: |
W 73.91560o |
| Drop: |
5' |
| Type: |
Curtain cascade |
| Region: |
US 86 between Lake Placid and
Wilmington |
| Parking: |
Paved lot |
| Trail type: |
Dirt/grass |
| Length of hike: |
<0.1 mile/2
minutes |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Accessibility: |
Public |
|
This location is just upstream from High
Falls Gorge, a very popular Adirondack tourist attraction
featuring waterfalls. In the parking area, you will find two
monuments, mounted next to each other on a single cemented stone
foundation. The one on the left was erected in 1985 by the
NYS Environmental Conservation Department to commemorate "the
one hundredth anniversary of New York State's Forest
Preserve." The other one was placed 50 years prior
commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the same event. We
left wondering why they weren't placed in chronological order!
From here, walk further up the highway inside the
guard-rails. You will find a number of easy trails leading
to the river where you can get on the rocks for a water-level
view. This is a very popular fishing area and there may be a
number of vehicles in the parking lot. Many of the anglers,
however, go away from the falls to fish.
This is a small cascade but is very pretty and the surroundings
are even prettier. Only about a five foot drop, it is
nestled below a number of prominent mountains, including Whiteface
Mountain, New York State's fifth highest point. The drop is
split between a horseshow shaped slide on the near side of the
river and a curtain cascade on the other.
Like many of the roadside, and more distant, Adirondack
locations, Monument Falls would be a nice place to enjoy your
lunch or snack.
The West Branch of the Ausable River merges with the east
branch a few miles downstream from here in Au Sable Forks.
The combined Ausable River empties into Lake Champlain in the town
of Peru.
|
