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Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 7:09 pm
by L_G_D
There are apparently more than one set of falls on the river that connects Lake George with Lake Champlain. The set I've been going to for a while are not the ones described in Russell Dunn's book. I've never been to those, so a return trip is in order in the future. Meanwhile, here's a grab shot I took the last time I was up there a week ago or so. It was a rainy day and we were driving around with nothing better to do, trying to dodge the rain storms and find places to shoot. We swung through Ticonderoga and stopped at the main park in the middle of town. It doesn't seem that Dunn describes this set in his book which is strange, since it's right in the middle of town, has ample free parking, and if you are really lazy, you don't even need to get out of your car. The one drawback to this set is that there's a hydro power plant right next to the falls so the scenic vista is marred a bit by that. Also, there's part of the dam that feeds the power plant visible as well, along with the obligatory power lines. Later this summer, maybe I'll get over there again and spend some time on this river and see what there is to see. I've usually gone there on the way to somewhere else and never really had a lot of time to spend. This last trip, there was time, but we were chased away by the rain again. So, here's the one quick shot I took from the overlook in the park.

Image

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:34 pm
by Matt
I recall reading about that falls being a huge navigation hurdle to early settlers.

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:38 am
by L_G_D
I would imagine, and considering there must be more upriver according to Dunn, the whole stretch must've been a pain. Though it's not terribly far from one lake to the other, it's enough to become a hassle. The Champlain Canal runs to the east if I'm not mistaken.

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 11:58 pm
by spartacusii
L_G_D -

if i understood this correctly, you are saying that this waterfall is in ticonderoga city park? i am planning on being in Fort Ti later this month (arriving the night of the 25th, & visiting the fort the next day). not sure if i'll have the luxury of time, but if i did, was curious what kind of access there is to the left of the vanatage point of this shot? anything to avoid that power station & power lines - what a great way to wreck a beautiful view, eh?

jp

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 2:57 pm
by L_G_D
Yes, this waterfall is right in the middle of town, if you drive through town on Montcalm street, you can't miss it. The heritage museum is right there as well. There are small pull-offs on Montcalm, and a good sized parking lot on Elk Street. You can wander around the park on both sides of the falls all you want, there is some restriction on the left side of the falls due to the power plant being there, but the right side is open to whatever you want to do. There is a covered bridge just downstream that you can use to get across the river. It's a great place to have lunch and relax. You can see the other waterfalls easily enough as well, if you go back to the traffic circle and head down Lord Howe Street, the falls will be noticeable after a bit, but the pull off isn't as nice, you have to do a sharp turn to the left. I haven't been to those specifically yet, just drove by them once, so that's guessing the conditions from roadside.

Here's a google map with markers approximately hand placed

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:17 am
by spartacusii
LGD -

thank you VERY much for your reply & the map. i have printed it off for my trip folder. looks like i may be able to sneak a little time in - it can't get any easier for me. we'll be coming in from vermont on the ferry, so all i gotta do is stay 'straight' to get to that one that you show in this thread. if i can pull it off, i may try to sneak on over to that other 1 as well. not sure what we'll be doing for food, but i'm sure by the time we get into town, we'll be ready for something - it'll be me & my wife & another couple - any suggestions? we're staying a bit south on 22 - a place called Lake Champlain Inn. we should be getting into town around 6-ish (last ferry is at 6 - i know), so some time for food & then the light should be pretty good for photos. keeping my fingers crossed.

thanks again.

jp

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:12 pm
by L_G_D
Hope you have a good trip. There are a couple of "hometown diner" type places in town, plus a Chinese place as well. Though I never bothered to look around much to see what there was for dining. Probably someone at the place you're staying could recommend better than I can. The sun sets late nowadays, so you should have plenty of daylight for things to do after you get there.

BTW - if you switch the Google map to satellite view you can get a feel for the layout of the place more. Also, I think there's some sort of self-guided nature trail / walking tour up the river from the lower falls. I seem to remember something about that. Probably someone at the museum could fill you in on that.

Re: Falls on La Chute River

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:26 pm
by spartacusii
LGD -

wanted to thank you again for your information. thought i would share 1 of the shots i got for this waterfall in ticonderoga.
IMG_1708_Edited_Online.jpg
for the LIFE of me i can't figure out WHY they had to place that set of poles & tranformers where they did. you have a beautiful set of falls & a nice park, & you let them position that stuff right smack dab in the middle of the scene. it isn't like they were tight on space - they had all kinds of room back there behind the falls to have moved that stuff off to one side or the other. GO FIGURE!!!!!

jp

ps - edited this post cuz i realized that something wasn't right about the edited file that i uploaded. sorry about that - but it was just too flat. not sure what i did wrong, but i had to correct it.