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Three Falls

Directions

Just east of the hamlet of South Colton, there is a bridge across the Raquette River.   Just east of this there is an intersection where the Snell Road exits to the upstream side.  A very short distance up this, the Raquette River Road follows the river upstream.  A few hundred feet from this junction, Stowe Lane, a dead-end road, will be on the left.

County: St. Lawrence
Town: Colton
USGS Map: Colton
Waterway: Raquette River
Latitude: N 44° 31' 00"
Longitude: W 74° 52' 55"
Drop: 12'
Type: Segmented
Region: East of South Colton
Parking: Roadside
Trail type: Dirt
Length of hike: 0.25 mile
Difficulty: Easy   
Accessibility: Unsure
Name: Official

Colton Quadrangle

This three-part waterfall, hence the name, is located just below the base of the dam at the bottom of South Colton Reservoir.  The hamlet of South Colton was originally named Three Falls, which got its name before this, and several other power dams were built along the Raquette River.

The coordinates given on the GNIS data base are in line with the upper part of this stretch.  It is likely that the first of these three falls was where the dam now stands. 

Roughly 800 feet downstream of the dam is a waterfall which we theorize was the "second" falls.  The third drop is another 1000 feet or so further down.  For several years, we have listed this lower drop as South Colton Falls.  This individual drop is still known locally as this, but it is our belief that the three drops taken together make up "Three Falls".  The river drops an estimated 90 feet over 1700 feet of this waterway.

From the vantage point described in the directions side-bar, you can see the bottom drop.  The second row of pictures in our photo array show this section.

In March 2019, we were contacted by a man from the Rochester area who has a camp in St. Lawrence County and enjoys hiking and exploring in the area.  He provided us with pictures and a map showing directions to access the location of the second of Three Falls.

He has also provided us with this information ... "This site is also not the easiest to access but it's doable. It is on hydro-co owned property, the only place they have the posted signs are around a fenced in area near where the cars get parked. I included a picture of how we get down there but it does include a little bushwhacking to get there. There are 2 caution spots. First is ducking under the big pipe - there are little 2-3 inch roundish stones on a slope that can roll out from under you so you need to go slow, low and careful here. Secondly, where you go into the bushwhacking part there are 12 inch small boulders on a slope and not secured. They've rolled out on me before too. After the boulders you just break through a 6 foot section of bushes and pop out into the open flat rock. Sweet little area here and totally worth it every time I've been. One last caution is at the falls all the way to the right. There is a little 1 foot wide ledge that runs in front of them that seems tempting to cross to get a better angle but this section is terribly slippery and it's super easy to fall in. I would go the 4 feet up and around to get to where you want to go instead."

Now the disclaimer.  We have visited this location.  There are Posted signs prominently displayed on the fenced in area noting that it is owned by Brookfield Power.  Not finding others, you might reach the conclusion that the open area is accessible.  We urge you to use your judgement.  A visit to the DANC Internet Mapping Application showed that all of the property surrounding the fenced in area is owned by Erie Boulevard Hydropower which is affiliated with Brookfield Power.  We erred on the side of caution and chose not to enter the property.

His pictures are shown in the first row of our array.  The final shot in the array shows his route in accessing the second drop.  That point is located roughly 600 yards further up the Raquette River Road from where you turned on Stowe Lane.

We are continuing to list a separate entry for South Colton Falls, number 3 of the Three Falls.

The Raquette River empties into the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York.

Last update:  May 18, 2022

Hover on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged image

Three Falls Three Falls
South Colton Falls South Colton Falls
Three Falls

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