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Northern New York Waterfalls ... Great Falls

Great Falls

Directions

From exit 47 on I-81, drive toward the city on NY 12/Bradley Street.  At the traffic light where this street ends, take a left and drive to the third traffic light where you should turn right.  Turn left at the traffic light at the bottom of the hill and park on the right by the electric facility there.

County: Jefferson
Town: City of Watertown
USGS Map: Watertown
Waterway: Black River
Latitude: N 43° 58' 37"
Longitude: W 75° 54' 24"
Drop: 25'
Type: Dam/Rectangular Block
Region: In the city of Watertown
Parking: Streetside
Trail type: Concrete sidewalk
Length of hike: 1 minute
Difficulty: Easy
Accessibility: Public
Name: Official

Watertown Quadrangle

Black River FallsFrom the parking area indicated in the directions side-bar, walk back to the corner and proceed to the bridge.  The falls will be on your left.

The directions we have indicated are for anyone trying to locate this waterfall that doesn't know the city of Watertown.  For anyone familiar with the city, simply go north on Mill Street from Public Square.  The waterfall is by the bridge just before the intersection with Main Avenue.  Parking is available street-side just north of the river on Main Avenue.  There is a parking lot of the auto parts store just south of the bridge but this is private property and would involve crossing a busy street so is not recommended.

Great Falls is another one of those waterfalls that has been a power dam for many years.  It is located on the Black River in the city of Watertown.  Watertown originally got its name because of all of the water power available on the Black River in that area.  There are several waterfalls that became dams within the city limits.

This waterfall has also been referred to as Black River Falls and Watertown Falls, but the most long-standing and widely used name today is Great Falls.  We are pleased to announce that at the May 10, 2017 meeting of the US Board on Geographic Names, the committee accepted our proposal and this name has "been added to the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and are now official for use on Federal maps and other products."

You can't see these falls from the road, but only because the cement walls at the edge of the bridge crossing the river at that point at too tall.  Simply park nearby and take a stroll up the sidewalk on the east side of Mill Street and you will see the falls/dam.

More distant views of this waterfall can be had while traveling east on Black River Parkway in the city.  There is one short stretch of this street where you will see the waterfall framed below the Mill Street bridge.

The Black River empties into Lake Ontario at the Black River Bay, just southwest of the village of Dexter.

Last update:  May 23, 2017

Hover on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged image

Great Falls Great Falls
Great Falls

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