These falls are somewhat unique.  Most waterfalls are on a river or stream somewhere upstream of the outlet.  The Bog River Falls are comprised of an upper and lower part, with the lower part dropping directly into Tupper Lake.  The upper part is estimated to be just under 8' and is split around a small island just upstream from this bridge.  The lower part accounts for the remainder of the 30' drop and is right under the bridge.

Another interesting bit about these falls are that they are in St. Lawrence County, as is Route 421 and its intersection with NY 30.  The majority of route 30 in this area, however, is in Franklin County.  Although there are no signs in either direction, the county line does cross Route 30 at two places, about 1/4 mile from the intersection in both directions.  Other than restricted private roads and trails, there is no outlet to Route 421, which means that most people can't get to this part of St. Lawrence County without going through Franklin County, unless it is done by boat.

You can easily access the crest of the falls by heading to the shore behind the parking area.  Across the road from the parking area, there is a trail leading to the lake shore where there are better views of the bottom.  There are a number of picnic tables available near the parking lot and on the other side of the bridge.  There are signs indicating that overnight camping is not permitted.

To do justice to both sections of the area, we have included two videos, one of each drop.

Another bit of interesting information about this location is the name of the waterway. During the review of our application to have Bog River Falls officially named, it was discovered that the waterfall wasn't on the Bog River! This is one of those, "how did this happen" moments. The source of Bog River is eleven miles or so away in the area of Bog Lake and Lows Lake. A mile-and-a-half upstream from the waterfall, a two-mile long stream joins Bog River. This waterway, formerly called Round Lake Stream, drains Round Lake. Back in the 1980s, for reasons no one really can explain, the decision was made that Bog River ended at this junction, and the entire distance from Round Lake to the waterfall became Round Lake Outlet. This meant that Bog River Falls has actually been on Round Lake Outlet for the past 35 years or so. Town of Piercefield officials were contacted for their input. This was a surprise to them because locally this was still known as Bog River. At the February 8, 2018 meeting of the BGN, this situation was returned to its original state. Bog River Falls is once again on the Bog River!

The name of this waterfall and the name of this stretch of river became official on February 8, 2018.

The Bog River flows into Tupper Lake, which feeds the Raquette River. The Raquette flows into the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York.

Last update:  February 24, 2018

Hover on any of the thumbnails to see an enlarged image