Northern New York Waterfalls
Home Alphabetical List County List  Listed by river  Bookstore  Official Falls  Submit Pics  Credits
Slideshow  Definitions  Disclaimers  Rivers of NY  Coordinate Conversion Contact Us  Links 
Northern New York Waterfalls ... Cascade Falls

The Falls at Wilmington Notch Campground

Directions

From the village of Lake Placid, proceed east on NY 86.  About one mile past the High Falls Gorge attraction, you will come to the Wilmington Notch State Park Campground.  From the Wilmington direction, this is just past the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center.

County: Essex
Town: Wilmington
USGS Map: Lake Placid
Waterway: Ausable River West Branch
Latitude: N 44° 21' 02"
Longitude: W 73° 51' 49"
Drop: 50'
Type: Classical cascade
Region: NY 86 between Wilmington and Lake Placid
Parking: Unpaved area
Trail type: Dirt/rock
Length of hike: 0.1 mile
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Accessibility: Public
Name: Common

Wilmington Quadrangle

Waterfall videoAs you pull into the campground, you will be immediately facing the office.  Bear left and park in that area and go into the office.  When we were there in 2014, we were told there was no entrance fee to see the falls, but we only have 30 minutes.  On a second trip in 2016 we were told that there is a day-use fee.

Any New York State resident age 62 or older, is eligible for the Golden Park Program.  On any weekday, except holidays, you can obtain free vehicle access to state parks simply by presenting your currently valid New York State Driver License or New York State Non-driver Identification Card.

Behind the office, there are two buildings.  The first appears to be some kind of storage/utility facility and the second is a bathroom.  Immediately behind the bathroom is a trail heading down the embankment that appears to have been formed by run-off.  Walk down this.  During much of it, tree roots have formed somewhat of a natural set of steps.  It is quite steep and somewhat of a scramble but very doable.  The walk down is about 500 feet, but you drop close to 250 feet to get to the river's edge.  There are two spots above the gorge where you can look down on the waterfall, but there is also a section of rocks between where you can get close to the river level.  The return up the embankment is a bit more strenuous.

The waterfall itself is a beauty.  At about 50 feet, it is essentially a vertical plunge.  Although this one is not officially named, it is just downstream from two other waterfalls that are listed on the USGS GNIS.  The High Falls Gorge area is within a mile upstream from this campground and Monument Falls is a short distance above that.

The Ausable River West Branch joins forces with the East Branch in Ausable Forks.  The combined Ausable River empties into Lake Champlain in the town of Peru.

Last update:  May 14, 2016

Hover on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged image

Wilmington Notch Campground Falls Wilmington Notch Campground Falls
Wilmington Notch Campground Falls Wilmington Notch Campground Falls
Wilmington Notch Campground Falls Wilmington Notch Campground Falls

©2020
Reproduction of this World Wide Web Site in whole or in part is prohibited without permission. All rights reserved.
 Trademarks and copyrights are the property of the respective owners and may not be used without permission.
nnywaterfalls.com is a service of Fourth Coast Creations