| Directions
Located on NYS Route 73, this site is
just south of the hamlet of Saint Huberts, which is on the
stretch between the village of Keene Valley and the
northern intersection of routes 73 and 9. Look for
the signs for the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area.
The parking area for AMR is directly across the road. |
| County: |
Essex |
| Town: |
Keene |
| USGS Map: |
Keene Valley |
| Waterway: |
Gill Brook |
| Latitude: |
N 44.12735o
|
| Longitude: |
W 73.80939o
|
| Drop: |
20' |
| Type: |
Step |
| Region: |
Off NY 73 near
the hamlet of St. Huberts |
| Parking: |
Unpaved lot |
| Trail type: |
Dirt/rock |
| Length of hike: |
1800' beyond
Gill Brook Steps |
| Difficulty: |
Moderate |
| Accessibility: |
Access by
easement |
|
Please refer to our page for the general information on The Adirondack Mountain Reserve. This
waterfall is located within that facility.
Sometimes, no matter how much you plan for something, things
don't go the way you plan. Bottom line, we are not
absolutely certain that this is Artists Falls. Here is our
story.
On our first trip to the AMR, we had planned on taking in both
river trails. After making our way to Rainbow Falls and
visiting all of the named falls on the west side, we decided we
would save Artists Falls and Fairy Ladder Falls for another
trip. On our way down the Lake Road we saw this waterfall
through the trees and decided to visit it. At the time, we
thought this was an unnamed waterfall downstream of Artists Falls.
This waterfall is about a 20 foot drop in the stream through
about three steps. A six foot slide at the top feeds a pair
of consecutive four foot cascades, with a slide finishing up the
bottom third or so of the overall drop. We reached it
through the woods from the Lake Road and had to ford a small
stream to get to it. The stream we forded joined the Gill
Brook on river-left about 150 feet below this point.
We marked this point on the GPS and when we got home,
discovered that it is extremely close to Artists Falls. If
this isn't Artists Falls, it isn't far upstream. This
location does match our information for accessing Artists, but
then again, we know we are close to it. There are two
concerns. We have only been able to locate one picture to
compare this to. It is shot from a different angle and only
shows part of the falls. Although it looks like it could be
the same waterfall, it isn't conclusive. Secondly, the
stream we forded doesn't show on the topo map. That could
simply be because it is so small. We have another trip to the
AMR planned, but probably not until 2013. Until then, unless
we hear from someone
contradicting this, we are going on the theory that this is
Artists Falls!
The Gill Brook empties into the East Branch of the Ausable River
not far downstream from here. The east branch joins forces with the west branch
at Au Sable Forks to
form the Ausable River, which empties
into Lake Champlain in the town of Peru.
|
