To New York, we go again…seeing three waterfalls in one day seems like a pretty crazy idea and it was! We decided to take the five hour trip from Pittsburgh to New York to see some of the majestic falls we have ever seen. This trip was special because Bob actually planned this entire trip for my birthday! It was a special surprise because every place we went to I didn’t know we were going to. We both were so excited for the trip that we both couldn’t sleep and ended up leaving at 3am in the morning and driving through the night. We got to our first destination around 8:30 am. This is the second time we have taken this similar route and it was already glistening with fall colors and the smell of fallen leaves. The views were breathtaking and I couldn’t imagine spending my birthday doing anything else.
First stop, Havana Glen Park in Montour Falls, New York. Havana Glen Park includes several small waterfalls and one named the Eagle Cliff Falls. This one was one of my favorites from the day due to the uniqueness of rock forms feeling of wanderlust. The falls were extremely easy to get to just very muddy the day we decided to go and cold! Walking through the rock valley is almost something from a dream with the moss enclosing all around you, with multi colored flowers, water dropping flawlessly, and the huge waterfall straight ahead. Surrounding the falls area is a seemingly enclosed cathedral of layers of rock, complete with towering cathedral, moss covered limestone and Eagle Cliff. Eagle Cliff Falls was named this because of the look of a spread-wing eagle profile naturally carved into the rock face. The area around the falls is so large and feels like you are far away from a park of any sorts.
We only got a couple shots of this area and didn’t record much due to the conditions of the falls and surrounding areas due to a recent flooding. If you do go soon, which you would have to since it is closed in the winter, please be aware of weather conditions and bring some boots due to the mud!
Getting lost, locking my keys in the car, and ripping my sweater couldn’t even hold us back from enjoying this next destination! (and yes all of those things did happen haha). Next stop was Deckertown Falls, which was only about ten minutes down the road. You will think you are in a neighborhood, then at a dead end with a few parking spots to find one of the most beautiful waterfalls we’ve been to! The walk was very short which was awesome from the long hike we had earlier that day and would be family oriented. You can hear the flowing waters from the parking area. When walking near the falls, you can see the lower part of the Middle falls which is about 12 feet high and has a 6 foot wide crest. From this area you will be able to see the upper part of Upper Deckertown Falls in the distance. We couldn’t believe we were the only people in the area the entire time we were there, which was about 3 hours.
I couldn’t stop exploring this area. Everywhere I explored I kept finding more to fall in love with and capture. While Bob was filming some footage I decided to walk the falls up to the top. When you have made your way upstream of Middle Deckertown Falls you will be able to see the full face of Upper Deckertown Falls. The biggest fall of them all is 36 feet high and has a 10 foot wide crest. The creek emerges from a narrow gorge and plunges 36 feet in an extremely steep cascade, which I decided to climb. Ledges near the base of the falls will allow you to get up close to this wonderful waterfall and climb with extreme caution due to the rocks falling.
Once getting to the top of the falls, you are almost taken back by how many falls I found behind these ones. I couldn’t really find anything online about climbing to the top of these falls and finding the cascades coming down. It is 100% worth climbing to the top of these falls to see all the beauty at the top. There is about a quarter mile of cascades and big falls. I spent hours exploring up at the top and we will link the gorgeous pictures we captured in this blog to get the information out there of this dream like place. I honestly didn’t want to leave but we wanted to make at least one more stop our first day of the waterfall birthday extravaganza.
We only traveled another 15 minutes down the road to find Hector Falls. This is located in Hector, New York (which is right along Seneca Lake) and again extremely close to our previous destinations. These falls are quite different than what were used to because these falls are actually right on a main highway leading into the lake. You can park in certain spots near a bridge and walk to the overlook over these falls. We actually took a little trip to the bottom of the falls, which is very slippery but very unique. You would never think that that huge waterfall would be right by a neighborhood and on a main busy highway. According to the signs, Hector Falls is recorded to be about 170 feet tall but it cascades to over 250 more feed of cascades of water. We didn’t stay here long due to limitation with parking and the dangers of being on the side of a main highway, but we definitely recommend going and stopping to see these huge unique falls.
This was one of our longest days of travel we have accomplished as a couple, but we absolutely loved the constant adventure the entire day. About 30 minutes away we found our way to our hotel. Our hotel was conveniently close to the next few days trips and plenty of places to eat and explore. We decided to take it easy this night and go out to eat for my birthday the next day since we were both exhausted. These falls were all rare to see and every single one having its own fingerprint in the rocks of New York. It was draining to do all three of these in one day but if you want to get the most of your trip in this area, every minute counts since there is so much to do in the couple days we had.
Overall, I am so thankful and blessed that Bob planned this trip. We have grown so much as a couple, as friends, as partners, and as adventures, that I couldn’t ask for anything better than these experiences together. We are so happy we get to share all of our memories, pictures, videos, laughs, dances, birthdays and information to you guys! The next day was even bigger and better! Can’t wait to tell you all about it in the next week’s post!
Eagle Cliff, Deckertown, and Hector Falls Gallery
