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Northern New York Waterfalls ... Cascade Falls

Dexter Falls

Directions

From exit 46 on I-81, proceed west on NY 12F.  A short distance past the airport, there is the intersection with NY 180.  Just after taking the right turn into the village of Dexter, the dam and waterfall will be in sight on the right from the bridge over the Black River.

County: Jefferson
Town: Hounsfield/Brownville
USGS Map: Dexter
Waterway: Black River
Latitude: N 44o 00' 12"
Longitude: W 76o 02' 30"
Drop: 20'
Type: Dam
Region: Just off NY 180 in the village of Dexter
Parking: Roadside
Trail type: Dirt
Length of hike: <0.1 mile/1 minute
Difficulty: Easy
Accessibility: Public
Name: Unnamed

Dexter Quadrangle

If you want to view the falls from the bridge, it would be best to park on the roadside before crossing the bridge (across the river from the village of Dexter) and then walk to the bridge.  There are however, some options.

Back on route 12F just before reaching 180, there are two roads, Lee Road and Old State Road, that form a loop and skirt the river.  This area is popular with fishermen and women.  Some parking is available on the roadside there and there are multiple trails to the river.  You can get up close and personal with the falls.

There is now a hydro facility on the Dexter side of the river.  On the Lee Road side, there is a retaining dam.  At the base of that, there is still a little waterfall, leading us to wonder what the area looked like before the dam was built.  We have learned that this dam was built in the early 1800s.  Historical accounts about Great Falls, upstream in Watertown, indicate that it was the first real impediment to fish moving upstream from the lake.  That would indicate that any elevation changes in the Dexter area were small.

John Stano, Dexter Village Historian, has told us that he is not aware of any pictures of the area before the dam's installation.  He has found text references to the area that implies that this region was more accurately rapids, rather than a waterfall.  This entry is probably more significant to the history of this region, rather than to the current situation.

The flow here is controlled by a number of dams upstream.  There are times when the flow over this one is just a trickle, either because of activity upstream or because of dryer weather.

The Black River empties into one of the lake's bays just downstream of here.

Last update:  December 17, 2016

Hover on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged image

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