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High Falls

Directions

Take the Belfort Road from the village of Croghan to the hamlet of Belfort.  Then follow the Long Pond Road and turn left when you come to the Bisha Road.  Go to the end of this road and you will find a parking lot with a NYS DEC sign noting that it is the West Branch Oswegatchie Fishing Access Site, lot 11960.

County: Lewis
Town: Croghan
USGS Map: Remington Corners
Waterway: Oswegatchie River West Branch
Latitude: N 44° 00' 12"
Longitude: W 75° 16' 16"
Drop: ~50'
Type: Ribbon cascade
Region: Northeast of Croghan 
Parking: Unpaved lot
Trail type: Dirt
Length of hike: 1 mile, one-way
Difficulty: Easy
Accessibility: Private, access by agreement
Name: Common

Croghan Quadrangle

This is actually a very impressive waterfall and it is not even indicated on USGS topographical maps.  It is also necessary to note that this is one of several High Falls in the area.  There are two others in Lewis County, one just a few miles away on the Beaver River, also in the town of Croghan.  The other is on the Deer River in Copenhagen, due west of this one on the western edge of the county.  There is another High Falls on the Oswegatchie River.  This one is on the main channel in the St. Lawrence County town of Fine in a fairly remote section of the Adirondacks.  In addition, there are at least four other falls named High Falls throughout northern New York.  This waterfall is the only High Falls that we know of that is technically unnamed.  All of the others are officially named High Falls.

Note that the area you will be hiking is private land and posted, but it is a Conservation Easement Public Recreation Area.  Public access is allowed along the river.  Go past the gate past the parking lot into an area known as Long Level and bear left.  Follow the yellow Public Fishing Foot Path signs that mark the trail.  At about 0.7 of a mile down the trail you will pass the Shingle Mill Falls.  Continue a little less than a quarter mile downstream and you will come to High Falls.

This waterfall plunges about 50' into a pool.  The river then takes another drop and then a series of rapids as it continues its route downstream.  If we were promoting retail shopping, we would call this one a "best buy"!  It is a bit of a walk in.  The hike will take you close to 30 minutes over almost a mile of moderate to above hiking, but it is well worth the trip.  The upper part of this waterfall is a free-fall that is very pretty.  As you stand on the top of the ridge across from it, you will feel the spray, even though you are a couple of hundred feet away.  You are outside of the Adirondack Park limits at this point, so you aren't even in the wilds of northern New York but beauty knows no boundaries.  You are still in a fairly remote setting.  There are no railings or fences so take care.  You are on the edge of a fairly deep drop.  This is a site that is there to be enjoyed. Remember to carry out whatever you carry in.

The West Branch of the Oswegatchie joins the main channel a few miles downstream, just west of the hamlet of Talcville in the town of Edwards.  This then flows to the St. Lawrence River in Ogdensburg.

Last update:  April 28, 2016

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