| 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. A short
distance up this road, you will come to a "Y".
Bear left here onto the Kilbourn Road. In a little over
one-half mile, you will pass the intersection of the Carthage
Reservoir Road. A little over one-half mile past this point,
you will take a left. In 0.1 mile take a right. Just
keep following the Public Fishing Access signs. You will
come to an angler's parking lot. |
| County: |
Lewis |
| Town: |
Croghan |
| USGS Map: |
Belfort |
| Waterway: |
Oswegatchie
River West Branch |
| Latitude: |
N
43.98823o |
| Longitude: |
W
75.29250o
|
| Drop: |
~35' |
|
To find Kilbourn Falls, you will be on some unpaved
roads. Depending upon the time of year you make the trip,
you might want to be either in a truck or at least an SUV with
adequate clearance. Once at the angler's parking lot, the walk to the trail is
about 0.4 of a mile. The trail is fairly well marked but
make some mental notes when you reach the river. The trail
at that end isn't quite as clear. It is easy to get turned
around and you want to make sure you know where you want to be to
get out!
You can get some very nice views and pictures of the bottom of
the falls if you bear left and head downstream when you reach the
river. Then you will want to head upstream where you can
literally walk right up to the falls. Above the falls, the
river is actually quite calm. Anyone coming downstream in a
canoe or kayak better know what they are heading into! The
serene and quiet of the forest area could lull you into a sense of
security. Suddenly, a rock outcropping causes the channel to
narrow to about three feet and the water plunges an estimated ten
feet. Then you have whitewater for a stretch as the river
descends slightly under a bridge before the waterfall takes its
main plunge of 35 or so feet.
Although there are no picnic tables or other facilities here,
this would be a very nice destination for a family picnic.
You can relax and enjoy the solitude before making your hike
out. You might even want to bring your fishing gear.
This is a fairly popular site for anglers.
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.
|
