From the parking area, proceed on foot for about 0.1 mile north
on route 8. There is a dirt road on the left. Follow
this to a point where you can see Shanty Brook entering the Sacandaga.
Climb down the embankment and ford
the river here. All references you find regarding this
location note that this hike is best done in
mid to late summer when the water levels are lower.
References to this hike that we had read indicated
that you should follow the trail along Shanty Brook
for about 0.7 mile. At about
100 feet up Shanty Brook, we attempted to find the trail,
supposedly on our left. About two steps in and we
discovered ample Poison Ivy. This was very prominent in
the area so we went to Plan B, which was to rock hop up the
creek.
You are already wet from fording the Sacandaga, so walking up
the creek shouldn't be an issue. It is also the safer
option because the aforementioned Poison Ivy was found at
numerous locations on both sides of the creek.
Shanty Brook Falls is supposedly 0.7 mile upstream from the
Sacandaga. We hiked almost double that in the creek and
did not encounter the falls we were expecting. We can only
assume that we were so late in the season that the drop we were
looking for was dry. Either that or we just missed it,
which doesn't seem likely.
We will attempt this trip again at some point.
Shanty Brook flows into the east branch of the Sacandaga River,
which joins the main branch downstream from that point. The
Sacandaga River flows through a number of lakes as it makes its
way to the Hudson River whose final destination is the Atlantic
Ocean.
Last update: September 11, 2021
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