| Directions
From the village of Lyons Falls, travel east on the Lyonsdale
Road until you reach the Shibley Road where you should turn
left. After crossing the bridge, park on the
shoulder of Shibley Road.
|
| County: |
Lewis |
| Town: |
Lyonsdale |
| USGS Map: |
Port Leyden |
| Waterway: |
Moose River |
| Latitude: |
N 43° 36' 46" |
| Longitude: |
W 75° 20' 14" |
| Drop: |
30' |
| Type: |
Cascade |
| Region: |
East of Lyons Falls |
| Parking: |
Unpaved lot |
| Trail type: |
Dirt |
| Length of hike: |
2 minutes |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Accessibility: |
Private, access allowed |
| Name: |
Common |
|
 A
short distance past the bridge there is a dirt road on the left.
Walk down this and you will soon come to a path leading to the
riverbank. Follow this and you will be at the base of the
falls.
Note that there has recently been a change here.
Across from the trailhead, there is a clearing that formerly was
used as a parking area. Ownership of this property has recently
been transferred. Due to littering and other issues, the new
owner will be installing a cable blocking access to it.This is a two-part waterfall, with drops on both sides of an
island. The river left portion is below a dam which is identified
as the Lyons Falls Hydroelectric Gouldtown Site.
There has been considerable confusion, at least on our part,
about this location. We have found online references calling
the river left portion of this waterfall Goulds Mills Falls and
the river right portion, Kosterville Falls. It is true that
historically, Goulds Mills was a community on the south side of
the river (river left) and Kosterville was on the north side.
Neither of these communities exist, per se, today. However,
we have also found information that indicated that this entire location
is Goulds Mills Falls and the region upstream, commonly referred
to as Magilla is Kosterville Falls.
After much research, and more importantly, conversations with
a number of local residents who have spent their entire life in
this area, we have determined that the latter of the above two options
is most accurate. This site is the area that was Goulds Mills
Falls.
Just upstream of the Gouldtown Site is the Lyons Falls Hydroelectric
Kosterville Site. The waterfall there is known today as Magilla,
a name given by the whitewater community. Local sources agree
that this was formerly known as Kosterville Falls.
It is interesting to note that the water level through this stretch
makes a dramatic impact on the appearance of each section.
The last image we have provided is courtesy of Bing Maps and shows
the entire region of Goulds Mills Falls. You will note that
water wasn't even flowing over some of the sections in this shot.
The Moose River flows into the Black River just a few miles downstream
from this location in Lyons Falls. The Black empties into
Lake Ontario in the Jefferson County community of Dexter.
Last update: July 18, 2017
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