Re: Montville Falls / Decker Creek Falls - Cayuga County
Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:42 am
You are correct that if you stay close to the bridge, you are not on private property. However, when he yelled at me, I was working my way upstream towards the falls, which takes you past his house. His house is the one on the right if you are standing on the bridge looking upstream, with the "No Trespassing" signs plastered on the old mill building. He told me he owned the creek, but I do not know if this is true. I did some research at the time and found that in NYS, if a creek is wide and deep enough to canoe, it is public right-of-way for those purposes, regardless of whether it flows through someone else's property. I would say this creek is borderline canoe accessible, so its a huge grey area.A more natural entry point is where the creek crosses under the state road downstream in the center of the village. I observed exactly one no trespassing sign here, on the lawn of a house and set well back from the road. The apparent address is 65 East Cayuga St. Obviously the road and the bridge are a public right of way. It appears possible to follow the right of way from the street, hugging the edge of the bridge, down into the creek, without trespassing. It is probably possible to do this from either bank, though I did not get out of the car to check as I'd already done my creekwalk using the somewhat treacherous cemetery access
Yes, the hike down from the cemetery is steep and the soil is loose, but I still prefer that route to the possibility of dealing with the landowner.
welcome to the community OakTimber!